Ine 

Of  Europe 


Wilhelm  MühloJ 


The 
Vandal  of  Europe 

An  Expose  of  the  Inner  Workings  of  Germany's 

Policy  of  World  Domination,  and  its 

Brutalizing  Consequences 


By 

Wilhelm  Mühion 

Former  Director  in  Krupps 

Translated  with  an  Introduction  by 
William  L.  McPherson 


G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

New   York  and  London 

XLbc    iknicfterbocker    press 

1918 


Copyright,  1918 

BY 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 


'(Tbe  ftnicFierbocfier  press.  "Mew  ISorlt 


INTRODUCTION 

Doctor  Mühlon's  diary  is  one  of  the 
great  documents  of  the  war.  It  will  live, 
in  the  years  to  come,  long  after  the  ordinary 
controversial  literature  of  the  war  has  been 
forgotten.  It  discloses  an  intellectual  and 
moral  insight  and  a  literary  pungency  which 
qualify  it  for  immortality. 

When  the  historian  of  the  next  genera- 
tion undertakes  to  fix  responsibility  for  the 
present  world  war  and  to  analyze  the  causes 
of  that  lust  for  world  power  which  moved 
Germany  to  draw  the  sword  against  Russia 
and  against  democratic  Western  Europe,  he 
will  find  nowhere  a  more  vital  record  of  the 
origins,  the  symptoms,  and  the  whole  phan- 
tasmagoria of  German  militaristic  madness 
than  that  contained  in  this  amazing  journal. 

There  is  a  phrase  of  Burke's  to  the  ef- 


iv  Introduction 

feet  that  you  cannot  indict  a  people.  Dr. 
Mühion  refutes  Burke.  Himself  a  German, 
he  has  indicted  the  whole  political,  social, 
and  moral  structure  of  modern  Germany. 
He  has  arraigned  its  governmental  system, 
repressive  of  individualism,  of  freedom  of 
speech,  and  independence  of  thought;  its 
abhorrent  conception  of  a  State  superior 
to  human  feelings  and  moral  laws;  its 
deliberate  policy  of  military  aggrandize- 
ment; its  paganism  (disguised  as  Luther- 
anism  here  or  Catholicism  there) ;  the  greed 
and  arrogance  of  German  industrialism; 
the  sterility  of  German  intellectualism ;  the 
degradation  of  the  German  press;  the  ser- 
vility and  hypocrisy  of  German  social  life — 
in  short,  the  many-sided  degeneration  of 
the  German  character. 

What  this  German  savant  has  written 
about  his  own  countrymen  gains  in  effect 
from  the  fact  that  it  lacks  utterly  the 
formalism  of  a  lawyer's  brief.  It  is  not  a 
political  pamphlet,  like  "The  German  Tac- 


Introduction  v 

cuse. "  It  is  not  a  critique  of  the  follies 
of  German  diplomacy,  like  Prince  Lich- 
nowsky's  memorandimi.  It  is  not  the 
philippic  of  an  embittered  rhetorician  or 
a  disappointed  statesman.  It  is  a  piece 
of  self-communion,  not  originally  intended 
for  publication,  and  even  passing  out  of  the 
diarist's  possession  for  more  than  three 
years.  It  is  the  daily  confession  of  a  high- 
minded  German  to  his  own  conscience  of 
the  sins  committed  by  the  new,  intellectually 
perverted  and  morally  debauched  Germany 
against  the  ancient  German  name. 

Through  his  connection  with  the  Krupp 
works,  of  which  he  was  for  a  time  a  director, 
Dr.  Mühion  was  brought  into  intimate 
contact  with  the  men  who  were  preparing 
Germany  for  a  world  war.  He  knew  their 
aims  and  ambitions.  It  adds  a  poignancy 
to  his  denunciations  of  these  men  and  their 
policies  that  he  felt  himself  in  a  measure 
morally  tainted  by  that  association.  He 
speaks  in  shame  and  sorrow,  rather  than 


vi  Introduction 

in  anger.  There  is  a  note  in  his  diary  of 
the  despair  of  a  prophet  without  honor  in 
his  own  country,  reproaching  his  kindred 
for  their  faithlessness  to  ancient  ideals  of 
justice  and  righteousness  and  for  their 
crimes  against  humanity  and  civilization. 

To  the  average  reader  the  most  astonish- 
ing thing  about  Dr.  Mühlon's  book  is  that 
it  should  have  been  written  by  a  twentieth 
century  German.  Its  tone  and  point  of  view 
are  eighteenth  century  or  early  nineteenth 
century.  They  have  the  detachment,  the 
cosmopolitanism,  the  critical  poise  of  Ger- 
man intellectualism  in  the  days  of  Goethe. 

Dr.  Mühion  is  not  a  victim  of  the  new 
German  chauvinism.  The  modern  furor 
Teutonicus  doesn't  impress  him.  As  a  man 
of  science  and  of  liberal  intellectual  ten- 
dencies he  has  only  disdain  for  the  brutal 
policies  in  pursuance  of  which  modem 
German  militarism  and  industrialism  have 
set  out  to  conquer  the  world. 

Many  of  his  countrymen  will  say  that 


Introduction  vii 

he  is  mad.     But  that  only  means  that  he  is 
not  an  ordinary  German. 

He  is,  in  fact,  like  Goethe,  a  European 
first  and  a  German  afterwards.  He  says  in  a 
passage  in  his  diary,  dated  October  6,  1914: 

If  I  should  ever  hear  a  voice  in  Germany, 
which  speaks  of  justice,  humanity,  or  non- 
material  progress  after  the  war,  or  after  our 
victory,  then  I  will  comment  on  the  fact  with 
pride  and  very  fully,  even  if  it  is  the  voice  of 
an  unimportant  and  unknown  person.  I  shall 
call  him  the  first  European  in  Germany. 

Dr.  Mühion  is  himself  the  first  European 
in  Germany.  He  is  a  political  philosopher 
far  in  advance  of  the  statesmanship  of 
Europe.  He  sees  that  the  curse  of  that 
continent  has  been  its  multiplicity  of  diverse 
governments,  diverse  languages,  and  diverse 
national  interests.  Artificial  antagonisms 
and  inherited  prejudices  have  kept  the 
peoples  apart  and  made  them  an  easy  prey 
to  the  ambitions  of  politicians  and  dynasties. 

The  ill  from  which  Europe  suffers  most 


viii  Introduction 

is  chronic  political  disunity.  This  produces 
frictions  and  wars  and  has  given  rise  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  Balance  of  Power,  which  is 
based  on  the  maintenance  of  the  territorial 
and  political  status  quo,  itself  a  delusion  and 
a  conservator  of  all  sorts  of  inequalities 
and  discords.  Dr.  Mühlon's  political  ideal 
is  a  United  States  of  Europe — a  restoration, 
through  mutuality  of  interests,  of  peace, 
friendship,  and  cooperation  by  all  Euro- 
peans in  the  tasks  of  civilization  and  social 
advancement.  He  is  a  citizen  of  this  great 
community  first,  and  a  German  next — at 
present  an  anti-German  because  Germany 
is  the  most  dangerous  enemy  of  real  pro- 
gress and  civilization  and  the  greatest 
obstacle  to  the  rational  political  reforma- 
tion of  Europe.  His  disloyalty  to  Germany 
is  only  an  honorable  outgrowth  of  his 
loyalty  to  the  Europe  of  the  future. 

On  one  point  Dr.  Mühlon's  testimony 
will  be  of  especial  interest  to  Americans. 
We  often  hear  this  statement: 


Introduction  ix 

"We  are  making  war  on  the  German 
Government,  but  not  on  the  German 
people." 

It  has  an  air  of  pleasant  sophistication 
which  appeals  to  those  who  lack  a  close 
acquaintance  with  modem  Germany  and 
the  modern  German  character. 

There  never  was  any  foundation  for  a 
distinction  of  this  sort.  Say  what  you 
will  about  the  helplessness  of  the  GeiTnan 
people  in  the  hands  of  a  military  autocracy, 
the  fact  remains  that  the  German  people 
have  fought  this  war.  And  they  have 
fought  it  in  a  spirit  entirely  different  from 
that  of  the  people  of  Austria-Hungary, 
for  instance.  They  have  fought  the  war 
not  merely  out  of  loyalty  to  the  existing 
dynasty  and  the  existing  political  order, 
but  for  what  they  themselves  expected  to 
get  out  of  it. 

If  support  for  the  theory  of  a  clear  rift 
between  the  German  Government  and  the 
German  people  and  of  unwilling  participa- 


x  Introduction 

tion  in  the  war  on  the  part  of  the  latter 
could  be  found  anywhere,  it  would  be  found 
in  Dr.  Mühlon's  diary.  He  is  a  bitter 
critic  of  the  deliberate  policy  of  the  German 
Government  which  forced  war  on  Europe. 
He  would  gladly  have  testified  to  the  exist- 
ence of  an  anti-war  sentiment  among  the 
German  people.  Such  opposition  would 
have  mitigated  his  own  painful  sense  of 
isolation.  But  he  could  not  testify  to  it, 
because  it  did  not  exist.  He  says  frankly, 
on  the  other  hand,  that  all  classes  of  Ger- 
mans welcomed  the  war  as  a  relief  from  the 
difficulties  of  Germany's  pre-war  situation. 
As  to  the  ruling  classes — the  military 
autocracy,  the  industrials,  the  professional 
men,  and  the  leaders  in  education — they 
had  all  long  ago  embraced  the  doctrine 
of  military  aggrandizement.  "They  want 
to  lie  in  the  beds  of  other  people  and  don't 
mind  being  abused  as  barbarians  for  want- 
ing to  do  so."  Plunder  was  the  Vv^atchword 
of  the  dominant  classes  in  Germany. 


Introduction  xi 

But  how  about  the  lower  classes?  On 
this  point  Dr.  Mühion  writes  in  the  very 
first  days  of  the  war: 

No  wonder  that  the  German  proletariat  finally 
welcomed  a  test;  that  it  saw  itself  rid  of  an 
Alp-like  burden  when  it  realized :  * '  Now  things 
have  broken  loose  and  we  shall  soon  know  where 
we  really  stand." 

One  can  almost  say  that  what  the  result  might 
be  was  wholly  subordinated  to  this  deeper 
thought:  "Anyway,  we  couldn't  have  gone  on 
like  this  much  further;  clarity  must  come;  the 
burden  must  be  shaken  off.  If  it  goes  badly 
for  us,  then  we  shall  start  again,  with  new  bear- 
ings, more  modest,  simpler,  less  intolerant,  bet- 
ter. If  it  goes  well,  then  we,  the  people,  have 
done  the  work.  We  can  demand  that  we  shall 
lead  in  the  future  a  life  more  worth  living  and 
that  we  shall  come  to  an  understanding  with 
our  present  enemies,  as  soon  as  those  enemies, 
who  now  surround  us,  misjudge  us,  and  plot 
against  us,  are  overthrown." 

And  of  the  Socialist  leaders,  whose  antics 
have  been  somewhat  mysterious  to  foreign 
eyes: 


xii  Introduction 

The  Socialist  leaders  also  finally  abandoned 
their  opposition,  adhered  to  the  Government, 
and  demanded  full  support  for  it,  since  they 
«aw  that  their  whole  following  wanted  no  more 
mere  verbal  controversy  and  no  position  of 
isolation,  but  wished  to  leave  the  way  free  for 
the  Government  to  act,  with  the  whole  people 
behind  it — so  that  the  failure  of  the  Govern- 
ment might  definitely  condemn  it,  while  success 
might  bring  to  the  German  masses  new  life  and 
progress. 

The  millions  of  Socialist  workers  did  not  want 
to  separate  in  this  crisis  from  the  people,  to 
which  they  belonged  and  which  they  wished  to 
see  get  forward  more  and  more.  The  people 
would  have  to  fight  the  war  and  bear  its  bur- 
dens. So  one  would  have  to  stand  by  it,  not 
abuse  it  and  fight  against  it  by  refusing  obedi- 
ence to  the  Government.  The  Socialists  had 
suddenly  enough  of  strife.  They  wanted  to  go 
along  with  the  nation— to  bind  it  closer  to  them 
and  thus  attain  more  easily  their  Social-Demo- 
cratic aims. 

This  book  was  written  four  years  ago. 
It  is  remarkable  how  little  it  has  aged. 
There  is  hardly  a  judgment  in  it  which  has 
not    proved    sound.     There    is    hardly    an 


Introduction  xiii 

opinion    which    the    developments    of    the 
war  have  shown  to  be  fallacious. 

It  came  from  the  heart.  It  was  written 
in  the  light  of  intimate  knowledge.  It  dealt 
with  verities.  The  author  commented  on 
the  occurrences  of  June-November,  19 14, 
as  if  he  were  merely  a  clear-minded,  impar- 
tial witness  of  them.  He  proclaimed  the 
truth  as  he  saw  it.  The  Great  War  was 
made  in  Germany.  Her  military  autocracy 
had  been  planning  a  world  war  for  years. 
It  was  only  a  question  when  "the  day" 
would  come.  And  that  is  exactly  the  truth 
as  history  will  establish  it. 

William  L.  McPherson. 

July  29,  1918. 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

For  a  short  time  before  the  outbreak  of 
the  war  and  until  the  end  of  19 14  the  author 
occupied  a  high  position  in  a  great  German 
industrial  establishment,  with  wide  inter- 
national connections.  His  work  was  per- 
formed in  an  atmosphere  which  heralded 
war. 

When  war  came  he  renewed  his  efforts  to 
free  himself  from  an  occupation  which  had 
become  hateful  to  him.  In  the  months 
which  passed  before  he  obtained  his  re- 
lease the  following  commentaries  were  writ- 
ten. After  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to 
publish  them,  they  lay  untouched  for  more 
than  three  years.  They  came  into  the  au- 
thor's hands  again  only  a  few  weeks  ago. 

Although  they  seem  to  him  incomplete 
and  imperfect,  in  view  of  the  frightful  de- 


xvi  Author's  Preface 

velopment  which  the  war  and  our  insight 
into  it  have  undergone,  the  author  behaves 
that  he  ought  to  present  them  unaltered 
and  in  their  original  form.  Only  a  few 
sections  have  been  excised — those  which 
dealt  with  the  special  field  of  his  business 
activities. 

It  is  the  author's  main  purpose  to  put 
this  question  to  the  German  reader: 
"Haven't  you  thought  thus  for  a  long  time? 
Don't  you  think  thus  now;  because  all 
men  must  think  thus  who,  without  craft 
or  violence,  strive  after  truth  and  justice?" 

On  the  other  hand,  little  importance  is 
attached  to  requiring  the  reader  to  take 
on  faith — a  faith  on  his  part  which  is  often 
abused— the  interspersed  descriptions  of 
events.  It  will  suffice  if  he  is  moved  to 
recall  his  own  experiences  and  impressions, 
and  to  draw  from  them  whatever  conclu- 
sions he  can. 

The  Author. 

March,  1918. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe 


The  Vandal  of  Europe 


In  the  first  days  of  August,  1914. 

When  the  news  reached  us  at  the  end  of 
June  that  the  heir-apparent  to  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  throne  and  his  wife  had  been 
assassinated  on  June  28th,  in  Serajevo,  by 
conspirators  of  Serbian  origin,  my  first 
thought  and  my  first  words  were : 

"Now  we  are  sure  to  have  a  European 
war.  Austria  must  make  a  demonstration 
of  some  sort,  or  else  her  fate  is  sealed. 
Otherwise  all  the  Hapsburg  races  will 
shake  themselves  free  from  the  feeble  and 
hesitating  Dual  Monarchy.  And,  in  pur- 
suance of  all  its  traditions,  action  by  the 
Dual  Monarchy  will  mean  war. 

"Austria-Hungary    will    not    decide    to 


2  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

grant  to  her  long  discordant  and  disunited 
peoples  the  opportunity  they  desire  to 
create  out  of  her  territory  various  smaller 
independent  states,  which  might  become 
the  truest  friends  of  the  mother  who  bore 
them.  On  the  contrary,  the  Dual  Monarchy 
has  always  kept  on  occupying  and  annexing 
new  territory,  so  that  its  difficulties  have 
steadily  increased.  It  has  never  volimtarily 
surrendered  anything .  1 1  has  always  fought 
to  maintain  an  untenable  position,  like  that 
it  used  to  hold  in  Italy. 

"A  generous  and  cleverly  planned  libera- 
tion of  the  subject  races  might  have  had 
such  a  moral  effect  that  Austria  would  now 
stand  to-day  far  stronger  and  less  isolated, 
in  spite  of  the  diminution  of  her  territorial 
holdings.  But  after  the  Serajevo  murder 
all  that  would  come  too  late.  To  yield 
or  to  remain  passive  now  would  be  inter- 
preted as  a  sign  of  weakness." 

The  Hungarians  are  much  to  blame  for 
the  stagnation  of  Austria-Hungary.     Since 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  3 

they  have  obtained  the  largest  part  of  that 
independence  which  they  desire  of  Austria, 
they  have  become,  in  fact,  the  rulers  of 
Austria.  That  is  only  because  Austria  has 
not  drawn  away  from  them  entirely — a 
regrettable  mistake.  Hungary  is  to-day 
a  harsher  exponent  than  Austria  of  the 
principle  of  the  suppression  of  subject 
races.  Thus  the  difficult  position  of  the 
Dual  Monarchy  with  relation  to  Rumania 
is  due  to  the  stiff,  Chauvinistic  attitude  of 
Hungary  toward  the  three  million  Rumani- 
ans in  Siebenbürgen.  Hungary  is  hated 
politically  on  all  sides.  At  Vienna  she  is 
always  sure  to  advocate  severity  instead 
of  conciliation. 

The  annexation  of  Bosnia  and  Herze- 
govina was  a  grave  error,  and  has  been  the 
source  of  the  most  dangerous  frictions.  If 
these  provinces — in  so  far  as  they  are  Serb 
— had  been  handed  over  to  Serbia  with  a 
friendly  gesture,  Austria-Hungary  would 
doubtless  have  found  in  the  enlarged  Ser- 


4  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

bian  state  a  grateful  friend,  who  would 
have  protected  the  position  of  the  Dual 
Monarchy  in  the  Balkans  more  effectually 
than  Hungary  with  her  oppressive  system 
ever  can  do. 

But  Austria-Himgary  renounced  this  easy 
and  rational  method  of  creating  a  devoted 
neighbor  by  her  policy  at  the  end  of  the 
Balkan  wars.  She  was  then  resolved  to 
prevent,  at  all  costs,  Serbia's  reaching  the 
Adriatic.  She  preferred  to  set  up,  as  a 
barrier,  the  artificial  state  of  Albania,  the 
northern  half  of  which  is  Serb  and  the 
southern  Greek.  This  step  could  not  but 
lead  to  a  deadly  feud  with  Serbia,  make 
Austria-Hungary's  policy  universally  im- 
popular,  increase  Russia's  prestige,  and 
eventually  bring  on  a  collision  with  Italy. 
For  if  the  Italians  also  demanded  the  crea- 
tion of  the  Albanian  kingdom,  it  was  only  in 
order  to  prevent  Austrian  expansion  along 
that  coast.  Since  Austria-Hungary  was 
also  firmly  set  against  allowing  Italy  to 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  5 

get  a  foothold  in  Southern  Albania  (at 
Valona),  it  would  have  been  better  for  the 
Dual  Monarchy  to  give  the  northern  half 
of  the  kingdom  to  Serbia  and  the  southern 
half  to  Greece.  Austria-Hungary  would 
have  fared  better  in  the  long  run  with  this 
solution  and  Italy,  unsupported,  would 
not  have  held  out  against  it. 

Of  course,  if  Austria-Hungary  thought 
and  acted  differently,  she  was  only  doing 
what  other  great  powers  would  have  done 
under  similar  circumstances.  Never  for 
any  reason  allow  a  neighbor  to  increase  in 
strength ;  never  work  with  him  in  the  inter- 
est of  general  progress;  never  surrender 
anything  to  him!  That  conflicts  with  self- 
preservation  in  the  sense  in  which,  unfor- 
tunately, the  states  of  Europe  interpret  it. 
One  would  be  laughed  to  scorn  were  he  to 
say  that  a  state  can  voluntarily  constrict 
its  boundaries  and  yet  become  greater 
and  more  influential — that  it  depends  not 
on  brute  strength,  but  on  moral   quality. 


6  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

whether  a  state  is  to  survive.  Certainly  we 
should  long  ago  have  had  a  United  States 
of  Europe,  if  the  political  intelligence  of 
the  separate  groups  in  Europe  had  been 
broader  than  it  is.  What  we  consider  so 
important  in  all  our  plans  and  struggles 
is,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  so  infinitely  petty 
and  barren  that,  outside  Europe,  no  one 
can  really  understand  what  we  are  driving 
at. 

Since  Austria-Hungary,  after  the  double 
murder  at  Serajevo,  was  less  able  than  ever 
to  change  her  policy  and  yet  had  to  do 
something  to  maintain  her  prestige,  it  was 
clear  that  she  would  choose  war.  In  that 
way  alone  could  she  hope  to  terrorize  her 
enemies  within  and  without  and  to  secure 
her  status  as  a  great  power.  But  for  how 
long?  That  was  another  question.  In 
this  sort  of  politics  you  live  from  hand  to 
mouth.  You  see  that  somehow  to-day  you 
extricate  yourself  from  a  situation;  but 
you  have  a  vague  consciousness  that  your 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  7 

salvation  is  only  for  the  moment.  If  the 
immediate  danger  is  avoided,  then  the 
gnawing  process  will  begin  all  over  again, 
within  and  without.  But  you  will  stave 
off  ruin,  delude  yourself  that  you  have 
evaded  it,  camouflage  it,  hope  to  find  later 
somewhere  combinations  which  will  restore 
the  fortunes  of  a  crumbling  house.  You 
know  that  you  can  never  be  really  sound 
and  whole  again,  and  that  you  merely 
deceive  yourself  and  others.  But  you 
shrink  from  thinking  the  consequences 
through. 

Austria-Himgary  was  obliged  to  seek 
safety  in  a  foreign  war.  She  could  not 
draw  and  quarter  her  own  Serbian-Croatian 
subjects  before  the  eyes  of  the  world.  On 
the  contrary,  they  had  to  be  presented  to 
the  outside  public  as  absolutely  loyal.  In 
fact,  the  murderers  did  have  connections 
with  Serbia,  where  their  racial  brethren 
day  in  and  day  out  were  stirring  up  hate 
against  that  outworn,  cruel,  selfish,  greedy, 


8  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

and  hypocritical  simulacrum  of  a  state — 
Austria-Himgary,  a  colossus  with  feet  of 
clay. 

That  the  murder  was  extremely  embar- 
rassing to  the  Serbian  government  made  no 
difference.  It  must  be  held  responsible, 
because  it  was  desirable  to  spread  the  im- 
pression that  the  Serbs  were  the  real  crimi- 
nals, even  though  Austrian  Serbs  had 
committed  the  murder.  There  would  have 
been  a  universal  tittering  in  Serbian  circles 
if  Vienna  had  contented  itself  with  the 
annoimcement  that  the  Serbian  Govern- 
ment was  not  implicated  in  the  crime,  which 
was  committed  by  Austrian  subjects  on 
Austrian  soil.  No,  it  was  evident  that 
Serbian  enmity  must  be  rebuked  within 
Serbia,  if  Austria-Hungary  was  not  to  be 
put  in  the  position  of  tolerating  it.  The 
Serbian  Government  must  not  be  allowed  to 
escape  war  or  the  Serbian  people  to  escape 
punishment. 

But  if   it   came   to  military   operations 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  9 

against  Serbia,  every  government  knew 
that  Russia  would  not  look  on  uncon- 
cernedly. For  a  blow  against  Serbia  would 
be  a  blow  against  Russia,  which  not  only 
played  a  general  protective  role  in  the 
South  Slav  states,  but  also  exercised  a 
broad  supervision  over  their  affairs.  And 
in  Serbia  and  Montenegro  this  protection 
and  supervision  were  given  with  the  assent 
and  approval  both  of  the  governments  and 
of  the  peoples. 

The  relation  was  a  closer  one  than  that 
between  mere  allies.  The  Balkan  wars  had 
recently  seriously  damaged  the  prestige 
of  Austria-Hungary  in  all  Eastern  Europe, 
had  made  the  Dual  Monarchy  unpopular 
and  also  given  it  the  appearance  of  helpless- 
ness, while  Russia  had  vastly  improved  her 
position.  Tolerance  on  Russia's  part  of  a 
blow  against  Serbia  would  have  restored 
the  status  of  Austria-Hungary  in  the  Bal- 
kans, and  even  in  Turkey;  and  Russia 
would  have  lost  credit  to  a  serious  degree. 


lo  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

Nobody  could  assume  that  Russia  would 
allow  herself  to  appear  vanquished  without 
an  appeal  to  the  sword. 


Nevertheless,  there  were  many  well-in- 
formed people  who  believed  that  war  would 
in  some  way  be  averted,  without  clearly 
knowing  how.  War  clouds  had  so  often 
gathered  in  recent  years  and  then  blown 
over  that  nobody  could  any  longer  really 
imagine  such  a  frightful  possibility.  For 
fourteen  days  everything  appeared  to  be 
tranquil.  All  the  governments,  including 
that  of  Serbia,  expressed  horror  of  the  mur- 
der. Only  the  Austro-Hungarian  and  Ser- 
bian newspapers  overflowed  with  venom. 
The  Government  at  Vienna  did  not  disclose 
its  hand. 

On  July  1 7th  I  had  some  business  in  Berlin 
and  there  I  learned  the  following  from  a 
person  within  the  inner  circle : 

Immediately  before  the  Kaiser  started 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  ii 

on  his  trip  to  Norway,  there  was  a  confer- 
ence in  Berlin  with  the  Austrians.  The 
Kaiser  had  declared  to  the  Austrians  that, 
this  time,  he  would  go  with  them  through 
thick  and  thin.  The  Austrians  had  an- 
nounced, with  the  consent  of  our  Govern- 
ment, that  within  eight  days  they  would 
dispatch  a  well-constructed  note  to  Serbia, 
which  should  contain  all  the  demands  con- 
sidered necessary  to  restore  tranquillity 
in  Austria-Hungary  and  to  revive  respect 
for  the  Dual  Monarchy.  Attached  thereto 
would  be  a  48-hour  ultimatum.  The  de- 
mands included:  Punishment  of  the  Ser- 
bian officers  implicated  in  the  murder; 
dissolution  of  all  the  Greater  Serbian  so- 
cieties, and  a  series  of  supplementary  satis- 
factions. 

I  had  the  impression  that  no  agreement 
had  been  made  as  to  the  wording  of  the 
note.  This  was  doubtless  a  dangerous 
omission  of  German  diplomacy,  considering 
the  risks  that  were  being  run.     The  Govern- 


12  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

ment  of  Vienna  had  really  obtained  thereby 
a  carte  blanche.  Germany  must  uncondi- 
tionally endorse  whatever  might  be  con- 
tained in  that  note. 

A  few  days  later  another  distinguished 
person  gave  me  some  further  explana- 
tions. He  had  spoken  about  this  omission 
with  his  friend,  the  Secretary  of  State  for 
Foreign  Affairs.  The  Secretary  had  an- 
swered that  they  had  thought  about  taking 
a  hand  in  the  composition  of  the  note,  but 
that  the  Kaiser's  assent  had  been  so  abrupt 
and  so  imqualified,  that  thereafter,  on  the 
German  side,  a  check  or  a  limitation  could 
not  well  be  considered.  Finally,  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  also  thought  that  he  could 
make  a  better  impression  in  Paris  and  St. 
Petersburg  with  a  statement  that  he  never 
knew  the  contents  of  the  note. 

In  these  conversations  in  Berlin  on  the 
17th  of  July,  I  learned,  further,  that  the 
Kaiser  had  positively  declared  himself  to 
this  effect:  If  Russia  should  be  dissatisfied 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  13 

with  the  demands  made  on  Serbia  by  Vienna 
and  should  mobilize,  then  he  would  im- 
mediately declare  a  German  mobilization, 
and  that  this  would  mean  war.  The  Aus- 
trians,  therefore,  returned  to  Vienna  with 
assurances  as  liberal  as  they  could  pos- 
sibly have  expected.  When  I  said  to  my 
informant  that  under  such  circumstances 
war  was  unavoidable,  and  was  almost  up- 
on us,  he  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  said 
he  thought  so  too. 

I  repeated  this  information  to  those  for 
whom  it  was  intended  and  on  that  occasion 
I  learned  from  the  gentleman  whom  I  have 
designated  as  a  friend  of  the  Secretary  of 
State  for  Foreign  Affairs  that  the  Kaiser 
had  also  personally  expressed  to  him  exactly 
similar  views. 

Nevertheless  in  the  circle  which  I  fre- 
quented I  was  surprised  to  find  that  no  one 
woiild  admit  that  war  was  at  our  very  doors. 
Only  when,  eight  days  later,  the  text  of  the 
Austro-Htmgarian  note  to  Serbia  was  actu- 


14  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

ally  printed,  did  they  begin  to  talk  other- 
wise. 

This  note  was,  in  fact,  one  of  the  harshest 
imaginable.  It  contained  the  most  serious 
charges  against  the  Serbian  Government 
and  set  forth  demands  which  one  European 
state  had  scarcely  ever  ventured  to  make 
upon  another.  Austria-Hungary  wanted  a 
rupture  with  Serbia — and  a  rupture  which 
could  not  be  bridged  over  by  diplomatic 
intervention.  In  truth,  the  note  contained 
only  one-sided  contentions  unsupported  by 
proof;  gave  no  time  for  an  investigation 
and  required  an  unconditional  surrender 
without  debate.  Now  everybody  saw 
clearly  that  Austria-Hungary  would  act; 
would  demand  excessive  satisfaction  in 
order  to  make  every  compromise  impossi- 
ble ;  that  she  believed  herself  unable  to  re- 
store her  former  prestige  except  through  a 
brutal  blow. 

Serbia  had  made  within  the  allotted 
period   almost   all   the   concessions   which 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  15 

were  asked,  with  the  shrewd  guess  that 
Austria-Hungary  would  lose  her  game  all 
the  same  so  long  as  she  did  not  draw  the 
sword,  even  though  Serbia  should  himible 
herself.  In  my  opinion  Serbia  could  have 
contented  herself  with  the  simple  statement 
that  she  accepted  all  the  propositions  of 
the  note,  and  Austria-Hungary  would,  not- 
withstanding, not  have  declared  herself  ap- 
peased (even  though  that  would  have  left 
her  in  a  still  more  pitiable  position).  She 
would  certainly  have  insisted  in  that  case 
(as  she  did,  in  fact,  with  regard  to  the  con- 
cessions actually  offered  by  Serbia)  that 
Serbia's  compliance  was  filled  with  a  spirit 
of  insincerity,  and  was  in  reality  therefore 
a  mere  exhibition  of  cynicism,  mockery,  and 
arrogance.  In  other  words,  as  has  been 
here  explained,  Austria-Hungary  wanted 
war  with  Serbia  immediately  and  at  any 
cost.  A  quarrel  was,  in  a  sense,  in  the  air; 
it  was  no  longer  a  question  of  shaping  words 
about  it  or  defining  it.     It  was  the  explosion 


i6  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

of  long-contained  and  intense  fury,  which 
wanted  to  get  at  the  object  of  that  fury, 
whether  he  prayed  for  mercy  or  threatened, 
whether  he  3^ elded  or  struck  back. 

The  Serbians  knew  this.  They  mobilized 
and  evacuated  Belgrade  even  before  their 
note  went  to  Vienna  and  Austria's  answer 
could  be  received.  It  is  noteworthy  that 
the  Austro-Hungarian  Ambassador,  imme- 
diately on  receiving  it,  had  declared  the 
Serbian  note  unsatisfactory,  and  had  broken 
off  diplomatic  relations,  without  feeling 
obligated  to  ask  Vienna  whether,  according 
to  opinion  there,  the  Austrian  demands 
were  considered  to  be  met.  And  yet  not  a 
single  one  of  those  demands  was  refused. 


What,  now,  was  the  public  feeling  in 
Germany?  All  strata  of  the  population 
concluded  from  the  Vienna  ultimatum  to 
Serbia  that  it  meant  war  between  Austria- 
Hungary  and   Serbia  and  consequently  a 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  17 

world-war.  They  also  felt  that  in  consider- 
ation of  the  long-standing  alliance  they 
must  refrain  from  any  criticism  of  the  Dual 
Monarchy,  and  must  stand  firmly  on  its 
side,  since  a  defeat  for  Austria-Hungary — 
even  a  diplomatic  defeat — ^would  be  a 
defeat  for  Germany.  Excitement  ran  very 
high,  because  it  was  felt,  further,  that  a 
clarification  of  the  situation  and  decisive 
measures  would  follow  very  quickly,  ia 
order  that  the  Triple  Entente  might  have 
no  time  for  crafty  combinations,  and  might 
not  deprive  the  Germans  of  their  greatest 
military  advantage — a  more  advanced  de- 
gree of  preparedness. 

It  might  also  be  said  that  the  German 
people  waited  for  the  decision  and  were 
prepared  to  greet  it  as  a  relief.  Already 
too  often  had  they  gone  through  the  strain 
of  war  preparations;  too  frequently  had 
our  foreign  policy  been  changed  and  futile 
experiments  in  foreign  relations  been  made ; 
too  constant  and  onerous  had  the  burdens 


i8  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

of  preparation  for  war  become.  And  yet 
at  the  same  time  the  consciousness  had 
strengthened  among  the  people  that  Ger- 
man reputation  in  the  world  had  not  risen, 
but  fallen. 

Germany  had  become  rich  and  powerful 
in  a  material  sense,  but  foreign  distaste  for 
everything  German  had  increased  to  an 
almost  incredible  extent.  In  the  European 
commimity  Germans  were  considered  as  an 
alien  mass,  which  eventually  must  be  broken 
up  and  absorbed.  The  outside  world  found 
Germans  brutal  when  they  pursued  politics ; 
hard-hearted  where  they  were  masters; 
unscrupulous  when  they  conducted  busi- 
ness; dull  and  ossified  when  they  taught; 
awkward  and  unpolished  wherever  they 
appeared ;  without  taste  when  they  bought ; 
ridiculous  when  they  wanted  to  appear 
distinguished;  cowardly  when  it  came  to 
individual  convinctions ;  not  to  be  depended 
upon  when  they  should  stand  fast;  servile 
when  they  wished  to  learn;  unjust  when 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  19 

they  passed  judgments  on  anything  foreign. 
They  were  considered  pests,  and  the  rich- 
est and  most  high-placed  among  them 
excited  the  greatest  aversion.  The  simple 
German  of  the  so-called  "old  stock"  had 
been  tolerated  by  the  outside  world  be- 
cause he  never  rubbed  it  the  wrong  way. 

Germans  to  the  last  man  had  a  sense  of 
all  this,  even  if  they  never  got  beyond 
their  own  boundaries.  They  knew  that 
the  German,  as  such,  was  unpopular  all 
over  the  world,  that  people  avoided  him, 
or  held  their  noses  in  his  presence. 

This  created  discord;  for  at  home  the 
social  and  political  leaders  acted  as  though 
the  German  was  at  the  forefront  the  world 
over,  and  was  its  ideal  of  the  coming  man, 
since  his  culture,  his  power,  his  principles, 
his  aims  were  higher  and  broader  than  those 
of  all  other  peoples.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
no  one  knew  so  well  as  these  leaders  how 
little  the  German  people  believed  in  the 
truth   of   this   glorification.     On   the   con- 


20  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

trary,  Germans  saw  themselves  torn  by 
the  strongest  oppositions  and  rivalries: 
between  South  and  North,  Catholic  and 
Protestant,  Junkers,  Democrats,  and  Social- 
ists, the  Kaiser  and  the  Princes  of  the  other 
Imperial  States — the  multiplication  of  such 
antipathies  could  be  continued  indefinitely. 

For  example,  the  irreconcilability  of  the 
Poles,  the  Danes,  the  Alsatians,  and  the 
Lorrainers  seemed  to  prove  to  the  German 
people  that  no  foreigner  is  able  to  recognize 
the  moral  superiority  of  the  prevailing 
German  order;  that  no  one  is  willing  to 
remain  with  us  in  order  to  learn  and  to 
imitate;  that  none  bows  even  to  force, 
but  would  almost  rather  mount  the  scaf- 
fold than  yield. 

Where,  then,  is  the  great  idea,  the  broad 
program,  the  illumination  of  the  future 
which  Germany  represents  and  which  justi- 
fies its  leadership?  So  people  ask  them- 
selves. We  work  hard  and  methodically; 
we  have  become  prosperous  and  ambitious. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  21 

But  have  our  advances  and  achievements 
in  other  fields  kept  step  therewith?  Were 
we  not  in  the  time  of  our  greatest  politi- 
cal disunion  and  economic  poverty  a  more 
significant  factor  in  the  culture  of  the  world 
and  in  the  development  of  himian  thought 
than  we  are  to-day? 

Enough.  Germany  was  torn  with  doubts, 
divided  in  opinion,  distrustful  of  her  own 
preachers  and  prophets;  pessimistic  over 
the  course  plotted  for  the  ship  of  state. 
She  has  seen  herself  in  recent  years  guided 
by  a  group  of  Prussian  Protestant  bureau- 
crats, military  men,  agrarians,  and  indus- 
trials towards  great  and  splendid  times. 
But  she  has  noticed  no  progress  upward. 
Whoever  thought  differently  was  expected 
to  hold  his  tongue.  All  opposition  was 
banned,  even  socially;  yet  the  ever-increas- 
ing burden  of  taxation  fell  on  all. 

No  wonder  that  the  German  proletariat 
finally  welcomed  a  test;  that  it  saw  itself 
rid  of  an  Alp-like  burden  when  it  realized: 


22  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

"Now  things  have  broken  loose,  and  we 
shall  soon  know  where  we  really  stand." 

One  can  almost  say  that  what  the  result 
might  be  was  wholly  subordinated  to  this 
deeper  thought :  "  Anjrway  we  couldn't  have 
gone  on  like  this  much  further;  clarity 
must  come ;  the  burden  must  be  shaken  off. 
If  it  goes  badly  for  us,  then  we  will  start 
again  with  new  bearings,  more  modest, 
simpler,  less  intolerant,  better.  If  it  goes 
well,  then  we,  the  people,  have  done  the 
work;  we  can  demand  that  we  shall  lead 
in  the  future  a  life  more  worth  living  and 
that  we  shall  come  to  an  understanding 
with  our  present  enemies,  as  soon  as  these 
enemies,  who  now  surround  us,  misjudge  us 
and  plot  against  us,  are  overthrown." 

How  great  the  role  was  which  such  feel- 
ings, conscious  or  unconscious,  played  in 
most  circles  among  the  lower  classes,  was 
in  my  opinion  proven  by  the  fact  that  even 
the  press  of  the  Left  (like  the  Berliner 
Tageblatt)  immediately  emphasized  the  seri- 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  23 

ousness  of  the  situation,  and  the  con- 
sequences which  might  flow  out  of  it,  yet 
refrained  almost  entirely  from  criticism. 
The  Government  should  have  complete 
charge;  it  should  justify  itself;  it  should 
not  be  allowed  to  say  that  it  had  been  in 
any  way  hindered  in  its  task.  This  attitude 
was  also  taken  by  the  sections  of  the  press 
which  formerly  used  to  criticize  most  bit- 
terly the  policy  and  the  measures  of  the 
Government.  The  newspapers  of  the  Right 
went  naturally  with  the  Government.  They 
had  no  position  of  their  own  and  were,  in 
fact,  the  more  anxious  because  they  did 
not  understand  how  completely  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  impossibility  of  existing 
conditions  both  abroad  and  at  home  had 
penetrated  even  the  lowest  strata. 

Independent  newspapers,  like  the  Rhein- 
isch-Westfälische Zeitung,  tried  at  the  begin- 
ning to  hedge.  Serbia  was  no  occasion 
for  war  on  our  part;  we  could  not  allow 
Austria-Hungary's    policy    to    involve    us. 


24  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

This  first  opinion  was  dictated  by  the  sin- 
cerest  anxiety  lest  the  German  Govern- 
ment might  again  commit  some  folly  in 
foreign  politics. 

The  foreign  press  has  wrongly  read  into 
this  expression  of  the  Rheinisch-Westfäl- 
ische Zeitung,  an  inclination  of  the  industrial 
magnates  against  the  war.  It  should  have 
realized  that  the  Rheinisch-Westfälische 
Zeitung  would  quickly  side  with  general 
opinion,  when  it  saw  that  the  theory  of 
Teutonic  aggression  and  expansion,  so  often 
preached  by  itself,  would  this  time  be  taken 
up  by  the  Government  more  vigorously 
than  ever  before.  The  Centnun  news- 
papers were  likewise  for  an  unconditional 
support  of  Vienna,  especially  because  the 
Dual  Monarchy  upholds  the  Catholic  faith 
among  all  its  peoples. 

Only  the  Social  Democratic  press  raged 
against  Austria,  and  said  that  for  such  a 
cause  no  drop  of  German  blood  should  flow 
— that  the  peace   of  the  world  must  be 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  25 

preserved  by  the  proletariat — if  necessary, 
by  force.  But  the  Socialist  leaders  also 
finally  abandoned  their  opposition,  adhered 
to  the  Government,  and  demanded  full 
support  for  it,  since  they  saw  that  their 
whole  following  wanted  no  more  mere 
verbal  controversy  and  no  position  of  isola- 
tion, but  wished  to  leave  the  way  free  for 
the  Government  to  act,  with  the  whole 
people  behind  it — so  that  the  failure  of  the 
Government  might  definitely  condemn  it, 
while  success  might  bring  to  the  German 
masses  new  life  and  progress.  The  millions 
of  Socialist  workers  did  not  want  to  sepa- 
rate in  this  crisis  from  the  people,  to  which 
they  belonged  and  which  they  wished  to 
see  get  forward  more  and  more.  The 
people  would  have  to  fight  the  war  and 
bear  its  burdens;  so  one  would  have  to 
stand  by  it,  not  abuse  it  and  fight  against 
it  by  refusing  obedience  to  the  Govern- 
ment. The  Socialists  had  suddenly  enough 
of  strife.      They  wanted  to  go  along  with 


26  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

the  nation — to  bind  it  closer  to  them 
and  thus  attain  more  easily  their  Social- 
Democratic  aims.  What  they  did,  they 
did  not  do  out  of  any  love  for  the  Govern- 
ment. 


What  we  know  about  the  further  devel- 
opments between  the  ultimatvim  to  Serbia 
and  the  outbreak  of  the  war  is  here  set  down 
very  briefly : 

Austria-Hungary,  immediately  after  the 
severance  of  diplomatic  relations,  declared 
war  against  Serbia  in  order  to  present  to 
Europe  a  fully  accomplished  fact.  She 
declared  at  once,  however,  at  least  via 
Berlin,  that  she  had  no  intention  to  acquire 
territory  belonging  to  Serbia,  but  merely 
wished  to  discipline  the  latter  and  thus  re- 
store a  lasting  tranquillity  between  neigh- 
bors, if,  and  in  as  far  as,  the  conflict  could 
be  localized  to  these  two  countries. 

This  explanation  appeared  flimsy  even 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  27 

to  the  German  pubHc.  The  intervention 
of  the  Dual  Monarchy  could  go  very  far 
and  last  for  a  long  time  without  coming  to 
the  point  of  a  formal  incorporation  of 
Serbia.  In  the  probable  event  that  Mon- 
tenegro would  take  Serbia's  part,  Austria- 
Hungary  would  again  have  a  free  hand. 

Also  there  were  various  outgivings  at 
Vienna  and  Budapest  to  the  effect  that  the 
Sanjak  of  Novi-Bazar  would  have  to  be 
taken  back  again  in  order  to  drive  a  wedge 
between  Serbia  and  Montenegro.  One 
could  assume  that  Austria  did  not  include 
the  Sanjak  in  its  definition  of  Serbia. 
Moreover,  it  was  the  general  impression 
that  once  more  only  the  course  of  events 
would  show  what  interpretation  Austria- 
Hungary  was  going  to  put  on  a  declaration 
such  as  that  she  had  made  regarding  the 
territorial  integrity  and  independence  of 
Serbia. 

Russia  expressed  herself  at  once  with 
great   positiveness.     She   could   not   stand 


28  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

by  unconcernedly  and  see  Austria-Hun- 
gary take  warlike  measures  against  Serbia. 
Germany  declared  most  emphatically  that 
the  Austrian-Serbian  conflict  must  remain 
localized.  England  saw  that  Russia  would 
never  accept  that  situation  and  made  a 
proposition  for  mediation.  The  dispute 
should  be  brought  before  a  conference  of 
the  Great  Powers.  Meanwhile  Austria- 
Hungary  should  suspend  hostilities.  France 
supported  this  proposition.  Germany  de- 
clared that  a  Great  Power  like  Austria- 
Hungary  could  not  be  dragged  before  a 
conference,  but  that  an  exchange  of  views 
between  Cabinets  would  be  acceptable. 
Austria-Hungary  objected  to  every  proposi- 
tion to  draw  her  into  a  discussion;  things 
had  gone  so  far  that  a  suspension  of  hostili- 
ties was  no  longer  possible.  Italy,  after 
originally  appearing  to  approve  the  English 
proposition,  adhered  to  the  German  and 
Austrian  point  of  view. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  Kaiser  had  returned 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  29 

from  his  trip  to  Norway.  The  President 
of  France  had  first  learned  of  the  situation 
which  had  been  created  by  Austria-Hungary 
when  he  was  in  Stockholm,  after  a  visit  to 
St.  Petersburg,  and  he  had  hurriedly  re- 
turned to  Paris  without  stopping  at  Christi- 
ania  and  Copenhagen,  as  he  had  expected 
to  do.  The  eyes  of  the  whole  world  were 
fixed  on  Berlin  and  the  Kaiser.  Many 
Germans  feared  that  there  would  be  a  long 
and  intricate  discussion;  that  the  Kaiser 
would  be  taken  in  again  and  that  Russia 
would  win  time  for  preparation.  Even 
the  Imperial  Chancellor  and  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs  said  to  their 
most  intimate  friends  that  whether  war 
would  come  or  not,  no  one  could  tell. 

The  press  received  temporary  orders  to 
quiet  the  public  with  prospects  of  a  settle- 
ment. What  transpired  behind  the  scenes 
will  only  be  known  later.  I  shall  put  down 
here  a  few  occurrences  as  they  presented 
themselves  to  me  on  the  day  of  the  declara- 


so  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

tion  of  war,  in  the  Hght  of  the  best  informa- 
tion obtainable. 

Russia  officially  ordered  on  July  30th 
(in  reality,  it  was  said  to  have  been  two 
days  earlier)  a  partial  mobilization  of  her 
armies  on  the  Austrian  border,  because, 
during  the  exchange  of  diplomatic  sugges- 
tions, she  could  not  afford  to  remain  passive, 
so  long  as  Austria-Hungary  declined  to 
suspend  operations  against  Serbia.  The 
Dual  Monarchy's  countermove  was  a  com- 
plete mobilization.  It  had  had  earlier 
mobilized  only  eight  army  corps  for  action 
against  Serbia  alone.  Berlin  let  it  be  known 
in  St.  Petersburg  that  a  threat  against 
Austria-Hungary  would  be  considered  a 
threat  against  the  German  Empire,  since 
the  obligations  of  the  defensive  alliance 
would  then  apply.  Russia  was,  therefore, 
expected  to  recall  her  partial  mobilization 
against  Austria-Himgary. 

Russia  mobilized,  nevertheless,  her  entire 
army  and  navy,  whereupon  Berlin  immedi- 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  31 

ately  sent  this  ultimatum  to  St.  Petersburg: 
"In  twelve  hours  either  demobilization  or 
war."  At  the  same  time  Berlin  inquired 
in  Paris  whether  France  would  remain 
neutral  in  case  of  a  conflict  between  Ger- 
many and  Russia.  Since,  naturally,  no 
satisfactory  response  came  either  from  St. 
Petersburg  or  from  Paris,  Germany  de- 
clared mobilization  and  a  state  of  war  with 
Russia  and  France. 

From  now  on  I  shall  set  down  every  day, 
if  possible,  some  comments  and  let  them 
stand  just  as  they  were  written.  Even 
though  occasion  should  arise  hereafter  to 
correct  them  or  amplify  them,  it  seems  to 
me  more  important  to  preserve  a  clear 
image  of  my  current  thoughts,  opinions, 
and  experiences. 


The  war  begins  in  Paris  with  a  horrible 
deed.  Jaures  is  assassinated  in  a  cafe  by  a 
patriotic  youth.     The  French  Government 


32  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

hastens  to  express  its  indignation.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  Jaures  was  a  credit  to  his 
country,  a  man  of  very  great  and  deserved 
influence,  imremitting  in  his  efforts  to 
broaden  his  own  views,  and  those  of  his 
fellow-citizens,  on  lines  of  progress,  human- 
ity, peace,  concord,  and  justice.  With  all 
that,  he  had  an  intense  love  for  France. 
He  was  no  depredator  of  his  countrymen. 

Only  a  few  days  ago,  at  the  International 
Socialist  Congress  at  Brussels,  he  had  em- 
phasized his  own  nation's  love  of  peace  and 
had  warmly  defended  her  when  the  ques- 
tion arose  whether  the  European  Social 
Democracy  was  strong  enough  to  prevent 
a  world  war.  Unfortunately  it  developed 
at  this  Congress  that  also  with  the  Social 
Democrats  the  international  bonds  uniting 
them  were  too  weak,  as  soon  as  nations 
parted,  and  that  the  Socialist  leaders  would 
stand  wherever  their  countries  stood. 

Jaures  was  certainly  no  traitor,  as  his 
assassin  claimed,  but  an  enlightened  spirit. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  33 

far  in  advance  of  his  time.  That  he  should 
be  shot  down  as  soon  as  France  ordered 
mobilization,  made  it  frightfully  clear  what 
high  moral  and  intellectual  values  war 
destroys  and  to  what  level  it  drags  us  down, 
through  the  men  and  the  ideas  that  come 
to  the  front  with  it.  Whether  or  not  the 
crime  is  expiated  makes  no  difference.  It 
is  enough  to  note  in  one's  memory  the 
fact  that  a  normal  and  patriotic  youth 
should  have  thought  he  could  serve  his 
country  by  committing  this  murder. 


With  the  imminence  of  a  state  of  war 
every  open  and  honest  expression  of  opin- 
ion is  made  impossible  in  Germany.  The 
newspapers  may  publish  only  what  is 
agreeable  to  the  Government.  The  right 
of  assembly  ceases,  all  intercourse  is  con- 
trolled. Civil  authority  yields  to  military 
authority.  There  is  no  longer  any  way  to 
get  a  reliable  idea  of  opinion  in  other  parts 


34  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

of  the  country.  It  makes  a  peculiar  and 
profound  impression  to  read  only  govern- 
ment news  and  see  military  instructions 
echoed  with  uncritical  enthusiasm  in  all 
the  newspapers.  One  must  believe  that 
there  is  no  longer  any  such  thing  as  criti- 
cism or  opposition  among  the  people. 
Even  in  the  most  intimate  circles  peo- 
ple seem  to  desire  no  real  exchange  of 
views,  and  to  be  satisfied  with  the  revela- 
tions and  orders  of  the  state  authorities. 

Since  the  mobilization  has  been  ordered 
it  is  disagreeable  to  me  to  sit  in  an  auto- 
mobile. I  shall  no  longer  use  one  until  it 
becomes  less  conspicuous.  I  cannot  drive 
about  among  the  people,  who  now  have  to 
bear  the  onerous  burdens  of  war. 

Many  of  my  associates  have  already 
departed  to  join  their  regiments.  It  really 
astonishes  me  that  even  our  most  pampered 
young  men  are  eager  to  enter  almost  any 
regiment.  No  one  does  anything  but  talk 
of  the  general  enthusiasm — or,  at  least,  the 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  35 

enthusiasm  of  the  upper  classes.  No  father 
complains  because  he  sees  his  sons  go  to 
war.  None  holds  back  a  son  who  wishes 
to  volunteer.  On  the  contrary,  parents 
seem  to  urge  their  children  to  get  to  the 
front  promptly. 

They  make  me  sad — the  big  bodies  of 
reservists,  who,  accompanied  by  soldiers 
and  gendarmes,  march  to  the  trains,  each 
man  carrying  a  pasteboard  box  containing 
his  kit,  some  of  them  accompanied  by 
young  girls.  I  cannot  look  these  people 
in  the  eyes.  I  feel  as  if  I  am  an  accomplice 
in  a  crime  against  them.  That  they  all 
must  go,  and  go  whether  they  want  to  or 
not,  has  a  good  deal  to  do  with  my  feeling 
about  it. 

Otherwise  there  is  little  excitement  in 
this  great  industrial  city.  At  night  one 
hears  patriotic  songs  in  the  streets.  The 
hoarse  voices  of  the  yoimg  fellows  have  a 
brutal  note  in  them,  as  if  they  wanted  to 
challenge    somebody    to   fight.     They   ex- 


36  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

press  no  higher  feeling  than  that.  I  be- 
lieve, when  they  gather  in  crowds,  that 
they  think  only  of  making  an  impression 
on  one  another  and  allow  no  higher  idea  to 
enter  their  heads.  Moreover,  this  loosen- 
ing of  all  the  bonds  of  peace,  this  traveling 
into  unknown  lands,  into  an  unknown 
future,  with  its  wonderful  adventures,  have 
a  great  charm  for  people  who  have  not  yet 
settled  down  to  the  monotony  of  vocational 
and  family  life.  Mostly  the  young  people! 
That  truly  intelligent  patriotism  is  their 
motive  I  am  less  able  than  ever  to  be- 
lieve. 

When  the  mobilization  was  expected,  I 
went  one  evening  to  the  Theater  Platz  of 
our  city,  where  every  day  big  crowds  en- 
gaged in  patriotic  demonstrations  and 
watched  the  bulletins  and  moving  pictures 
which  a  printing  establishment  threw  on 
the  wall  of  its  building.  The  crowds  were 
dense  and  many  policemen  were  in  them. 
While  one  waited  for  the  sensations  on  the 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  37 

screen,  young  men,  almost  children,  joined 
in  singing  songs,  and,  as  if  it  were  a  lark, 
kept  time  with  their  hands  and  feet  from  a 
somewhat  raised  part  of  the  square  further 
back.  But  it  never  amounted  to  real 
singing,  because  others  from  time  to  time 
screamed  out  "Hurrahs,"  and  "Hochs" 
in  a  strident  chorus.  Gratification  that 
one  could  make  a  hullaballoo  with  police 
approval  was  unmistakable. 

A  few  adults  were  in  a  serious  mood  and 
silent.  They  exchanged  questions  and 
guesses  about  the  mobilization,  while  the 
usual  wretched  moving  pictures  of  the 
Kaiser,  the  Crown  Prince,  and  other  national 
figures  were  thrown  on  the  wall.  In  general 
the  public  that  one  saw,  both  as  individuals 
and  as  a  mass,  was  so  unclean,  rough,  un- 
respectable  and  strange  that  I  went  away 
with  a  deep  feeling  of  shame  and  disgust 
with  the  uproar,  the  shrill  whistling,  and  the 
coarse  laughter.  The  assemblage  showed 
not  a  single  beautiful  or  interesting  char- 


38  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

acteristic,  no  trace  of  the  sort  of  feeling 
which  exalts  and  elevates. 

When  one  analyzes  the  so-called  war  feel- 
ing it  all  seems  to  come  to  this,  that  rough  in- 
stincts and  invincible  ignorance  still  abound 
among  the  populace.  War  sentiment  in- 
volves in  no  way  the  expression  of  a  judg- 
ment as  to  the  justice  or  injustice  of  a  cause, 
which  these  people  neither  exercise,  nor,  from 
the  point  of  view  of  those  in  authority  over 
them,  ought  to  be  allowed  to  exercise. 

Such  are  the  masses — at  once  weak  and 
powerful,  a  plaything  in  the  hands  of  the 
master  of  the  hour,  but  a  raging  ocean  for 
the  ship-wrecked.  To-day  they  run  ahead 
of  the  band  for  a  guard  mount.  To-morrow 
they  will  make  a  demonstration  in  the  cause 
of  universal  suffrage.  The  day,  after  their 
huzzas  tickle  the  ears  of  princes  who  visit 
the  town.  But  they  are  always  more  the 
victims  of  their  love  of  sensations  than  the 
followers  of  a  sure  instinct  or  a  settled  con- 
viction. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  39 

So  they  at  last  celebrate  the  arrival  of 
the  war,  and,  in  default  of  other  methods 
of  expression,  sing  "Die  Wacht  am  Rhein," 
or  shout  "Hoch  der  Kaiser!"  But  there  is 
a  false  note  in  all  this.  One  sees  that  they 
do  not  sing  and  shout  what  they  really 
think.  According  to  my  observation,  too, 
the  people  who  must  go  to  war  are  taking 
part  in  these  demonstrations  in  diminishing 
nimibers.  The  demonstrators  are  an  entirely 
different  class.  Without  engaging  in  the 
fighting  they  wax  enthusiastic  when  things 
are  going  well.  They  rejoice  when  good 
management  is  shown.  They  complain 
loudly  when  they  have  to  bear  some  burdens 
themselves,  and  would  hoot  down  the 
leaders,  if  the  war  should  fail  in  the  end. 

Those  who  are  called  to  arms  begin  to 
shout  their  songs  when  they  draw  near  the 
railroad  station,  because  that  is  the  cus- 
tomary thing  to  do.  When  they  have  first 
seen  and  tasted  the  frightful  realities  of  the 
battlefield,  and  know  that  laurels  are  not 


40  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

to  be  won  lightly,  then  the  spirit  of  the 
troops  will  change,  even  if  they  still  do  their 
duty.  Enthusiasm  at  the  start  is  cheap 
and  easily  excited.  It  can  last,  only  when 
one  fights  for  a  better  cause  and  a  higher 
ideal  than  his  opponent's  and  offers  even 
the  opponent  the  opportunity  of  freedom 
and  progress.  To  wish  merely  to  subju- 
gate the  enemy  is,  in  the  twentieth  century, 
a  fruitless  beginning.  If  he  is  physically 
conquered,  he  will  triumph  morally  in  the 
end.  And  that  is  to-day  the  decisive  thing 
in  the  eyes  of  the  civilized  world,  even 
though  that  world  is  not  represented  by 
existing  governments. 

August  4th. 
It  is  mysterious  how  quickly  the  craziest 
nmiors  find  willing  ears.  Germany  is  said 
to  be  overrun  with  spies.  The  people  have 
had  their  suspicions  aroused  against  nimi- 
berless  persons  and  daily  take  action  against 
them. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  41 

Unfortunately  official  requests  have  been 
made  for  popular  cooperation  with  the 
Secret  Service  police  and  that  has  led  to 
many  dubious  actions  and  misidentifica- 
tions. 

Many  German  officers  and  soldiers  have 
been  annoyed  and  arrested  because  people 
thought  they  were  spies  in  disguise.  Since 
the  Government  had  made  the  undoubtedly 
false  announcement  that  eighty  French 
officers,  traveling  in  automobiles  and  wear- 
ing Prussian  uniforms,  had  attempted  to 
cross  the  Dutch  border  into  Germany, 
foolish  people  everywhere  in  Germany 
believed  that  they  ought  to  establish  the 
identity  of  every  unknown  person  in  uni- 
form. On  the  strength  of  news  from  Berlin 
that  Russian  officers,  dressed  as  nuns,  had 
been  arrested,  and  other  spies  caught  in 
women's  clothes,  the  populace  even^rwhere 
began  to  hunt  down  suspicious-looking  nuns 
and  women. 

It  was  said  that  many  automobiles  with 


42  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

immense  sums  of  money  were  on  the  way 
from  France  to  Russia.  Incited  to  seizures 
by  the  Government,  the  people  interfered 
in  such  a  stupid  way  with  all  auto-trucks 
that  the  pack  of  hounds  had  to  be  called 
off  in  order  to  avoid  further  obstruction  of 
traffic.  Now  the  authorities  begin  again 
to  quiet  the  populace.  It  is  very  necessary, 
otherwise  there  will  be  a  reign  of  terror. 

Here  are  some  instances  of  the  nonsense 
officially  spread  abroad  by  the  Wolff  Bureau 
(the  official  German  news  agency). 

At  the  very  beginning  of  the  scare:  "A 
French  physician  with  two  disguised  French 
officers  tried  to-day  to  poison  a  well  in 
Metz  with  cholera  bacilli.  The  spies  were 
arrested  and  shot." 

All  over  Germany  newspaper  extras 
printed  this  news  in  large  type  and  added 
the  most  extraordinary  comment. 

I  did  not  believe  such  an  incident  possible. 
Even  amid  the  greatest  confusion  and 
excitement,  normal  intelligent  Frenchmen 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  43 

would  not  commit  such  atrocities.  Unfor- 
tunately, I  must  admit  that  our  people, 
as  a  rule,  pay  eager  attention  to  lies  of  this 
sort.  A  gentleman  who  had  long  been 
in  intimate  touch  with  the  best  French 
literary  and  artistic  circles;  whose  life  and 
home  bear  the  impress  of  French  taste, 
and  who,  on  that  account,  was  not  in  the 
least  a  leader  of  opinion  in  Germany;  who 
through  ancestry,  connections,  and  position 
is  a  representative  of  the  most  refined  class 
of  Germans,  said  to  me  calmly:  "I  believe 
it  without  proof.  The  French  are  like 
that." 

And  when  the  official  denial  came  he 
said:  "It's  true  all  the  same.  They  deny 
it  only  for  the  sake  of  preventing  a  panic." 

Another  of  the  false  reports  was  this: 
"Germany's  great  tunnel  on  the  border 
near  Cochem  has  been  destroyed.  The 
hotel  keeper  Nicolai,  of  Cochem,  and  his 
son  have  been  shot  as  the  perpetrators  of 
this  crime." 


44  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

On  the  following  day  the  Rheinisch- 
Westfälische  Zeitung  says  that  it  has  made 
a  careful  investigation  of  this  Wolff  story 
and  declares  that  Nicolai  is  a  former  French 
citizen,  naturalized  in  Cochem.  It  is  a 
source  of  gratification,  in  the  editor's  view, 
that  he  was  not  a  real  German. 

A  day  later  the  Land  Coimcil  at  Cochem 
announces  that  there  is  not  a  word  of  truth 
in  the  report  of  the  destruction  of  the  tun- 
nel, that  Nicolai  is  alive  and  is  highly  re- 
spected and  that  his  son  is  serving  with  a 
Prussian  detachment. 

Such  stupidity  is  amazing.  How  many 
political  animosities  may  be  traced  back 
to  such  easily  accepted,  perhaps  intention- 
ally circulated,  fabrications!  The  news 
has  been  printed  everywhere  in  big  type 
that  France  violated  international  law, 
since  she  began  hostilities  at  the  border 
without  a  declaration  of  war.  Even  if 
France  had  begun  hostilities,  this  announce- 
ment would  still  be  false.     The  opening  of 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  45 

hostilities  could  itself  constitute  a  declara- 
tion of  war.  The  claim  that  an  official 
declaration  must  precede  hostilities  is  not 
generally  recognized  by  authorities  on  inter- 
national law. 

Besides  this,  mobilization  had  already 
been  declared  on  both  sides.  The  ultima- 
tum to  France  had  been  delivered  on  August 
ist.  War  was  already  announced.  But  the 
border  skirmishes  of  whibh  I  speak  were 
first  reported  only  on  August  2d.  The 
German  declaration  of  war  on  France, 
which  followed  on  August  3d,  was  no  longer 
necessary.  You  can  only  say,  at  the  most, 
that  we  considered  it  worth  while  to  make 
a  formal  declaration.  According  to  Ger- 
m^i  statements,  Russia  also  crossed  the 
border  in  the  night  of  August  2d,  after  the 
period  fixed  by  the  German  ultimatum 
had  run  out. 

One*  hostile  act  imputed  to  France  on 
August  2d,  I  don't  believe  in  at  all — that 
French  aeroplanes  dropped  bombs  in  the 


46  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

neighborhood  of  Nuremberg.  This  I  hold 
to  be  a  pure  flight  of  fancy,  because  the 
aeroplanes  had  much  more  important  work 
to  do  nearer  the  border.  There  is  no  single 
established  case  of  an  enemy  plane  showing 
itself  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  although 
in  all  sorts  of  places  planes  were  watched  for 
feverishly  and  supposed  enemy  planes  were 
often  shot  at.  Probably  our  own  planes 
were  shot  at,  since  people  didn't  know 
their  markings  or  didn't  think  that  they, 
too,  could  be  patrolling  the  sky.  I  am 
strengthened  in  this  conviction  by  the  fact 
that  orders  were  presently  given  not  to 
shoot  at  planes  flying  overhead. 

In  every  country,  on  occasions  like  this, 
there  will  be  more  or  less  hysteria  and  the 
most  improbable  and  detestable  crimes 
charged  against  an  enemy  will  find  credit. 
But  it  is  my  task  to  hold  before  my  eyes 
and  those  of  my  countrymen  our  own  faults 
and  weaknesses,  and  not  the  enemy's.  We 
ought  not  to  say  that  the  enemy  also  does 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  47 

so  and  so.  We  must  do  better  than  he  does. 
Then  the  enemy  respects  us  and  tries  to 
do  better  himself. 

I  must  put  the  crown  on  these  pessimis- 
tic observations  by  calling  attention  to  the 
conduct  of  the  Kaiser  himself.  He  entered 
into  a  lively  exchange  of  dispatches  with 
the  Czar  in  which,  emphasizing  their  cor- 
dial relations,  he  emphatically  declares 
that  Austria-Hungary  desires  no  acquisi- 
tion of  Serbian  territory  and- that  therefore 
Russia  ought  to  be  satisfied.  The  Czar 
answers  that  the  procedure  of  Austria- 
Hungary  against  Serbia  can  not  be  tolerated, 
but  suggests  that  the  Kaiser  undertake  a 
mediation  of  the  differences  between  Vienna 
and  St.  Petersburg.  The  Kaiser  declares 
himself  ready  to  mediate  on  the  condition 
that  Russia  take  no  military  measures 
which  would  mean  war.  The  Czar  says 
that,  because  of  Austria-Hungary's  prep- 
arations, he  cannot  recall  the  Russian 
mobilization,  but  that,  so  long  as  negotia- 


48  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

tions  continue,  Russia  will  take  no  hostile 
step. 

As  soon  as  we  find  out  that  Russia  has 
mobilized  all  her  forces,  we  dispatch  our 
ultimatum  and  declare  war.  But  we  are 
not  satisfied  to  stop  there.  The  Kaiser 
publishes  the  dispatches  exchanged  with  the 
Czar  and  allows  official  or  semi-official 
statements  to  be  circulated  in  which  Russia 
is  accused  of  the  most  shameful  perfidy 
{moskowitische  Hinterlist),  and  the  person 
and  character  of  the  Czar  are  defamed  in 
an  unheard-of  manner.  Here  we  have  a 
quarrel  between  two  monarchs,  in  the 
market  place,  the  manner  of  conducting 
which  can  never  be  condoned  and  which  is 
neither  necessary,  nor  politic,  nor  justifi- 
able. 

For  everyone  knows  that  the  Czar  was 
not  a  free  agent  in  the  matter,  but  was 
constrained  by  circumstances,  and  that  the 
St.  Petersburg  Government  did  not  want  to 
allow  a  threatening  opponent  to  benefit  from 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  49 

Russia's  handicap  of  necessarily  slow  mo- 
bilization, any  more  than  Germany  was 
willing  to  renounce  the  advantages  of  her 
own  ability  to  mobilize  rapidly. 

I  can  see  no  perfidy  in  Russia's  public 
mobilization  order.  But  even  if  there  was 
perfidy,  why  does  the  Kaiser  make  a  per- 
sonal matter  of  it  ?  Why  must  the  Czar  be 
morally  demolished?  Does  it  benefit  the 
monarchical  principle  or  even  the  Kaiser's 
own  status  thus  to  exploit  and  expose 
himself?  He  cannot  believe  that  he  stands 
all  the  firmer  when  he  discredits  the  Roma- 
noff dynasty,  or  that  he  would  be  more 
respected  by  the  other  heads  of  states, 
even  if  that  were  true  which  in  the  heat 
of  the  moment  he  bellows  out  to  all  the 
world. 

Restraint  would  have  been  much  wiser  on 
his  part.  For  he  has  frightfully  debased 
the  tone  and  attitude  of  our  press  and  of 
the  other  guardians  of  public  opinion,  who, 
and  at  his  signal  and  under  the  influence  of 


50  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

the  example,  cannot  now  do  enough  in  the 
way  of  wholesale  vilification. 

We  stand  alone  in  this  matter  of  calum- 
niation. The  English  measure  their  words 
quite  coolly  and  speak  of  the  war  without 
passion  or  hate,  as  if  it  were  a  "gentlemen's 
agreement."  The  French  glory  in  them- 
selves and  their  cause,  but  do  not  consider 
it  their  first  duty  to  drag  an  opponent  in  the 
dust  in  a  violent,  offensive  fashion,  as  we  do. 

And  even  if  one  points  out  to  me  that  the 
press  of  this  or  that  other  country  adopts, 
in  part,  an  abusive  tone,  nevertheless  the 
performance  of  the  Kaiser  remains  unique 
among  sovereigns.  Neither  the  Czar  nor 
the  King  of  England  nor  the  Emperor  of 
Austria  has  uttered  a  single  word  personally 
in  the  controversy.  The  Kaiser  will  even- 
tually, with  this  system  of  his,  so  expose 
himself  and  so  burden  himself  with  respon- 
sibilities that  he  will  become  impossible. 

At  present  no  one  speaks  of  this.  But  in 
case   things  should   go  badly,  they  would 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  51 

all  blame  him.  And  in  case  things  should 
go  well,  the  people  would  snatch  the  mega- 
phone out  of  his  hand.  That  the  press 
now  breaks  out  with  the  hateful  cry  Vae 
Victis,  and  again  Vae  VicHs,  is  due  in  no 
small  measure  to  the  example  of  the  "All 
Highest." 

I  cannot  too  often  din  it  into  the  ears  of 
the  Germans  that  what  is  lacking  in  moral 
superiority  cannot  be  replaced  by  force; 
that  an  enemy  is  not  to  be  overcome  by 
threats,  but  because  of  them  becomes  a 
hundred  times  more  potent.  It  is  no  won- 
der that  foreign  voices  declare  Germany, 
not  Russia,  to  be  the  really  dangerous, 
brutal,  and  despotic  country  and  indict  the 
Kaiser  as  an  embodiment  of  evil  German 
instincts — a  fomentor  of  trouble  in  Europe, 
who  must  be  driven  from  power. 
*  *  « 

August  5  th. 

The  Reichstag  passed  various  measures 
yesterday  without   debate,    including    the 


52  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

five  billion  credit.  I  received  the  same 
evening  an  abstract  of  the  Wolff  Bureau's 
dispatches  about  this  sitting,  and  I  am  now- 
reading  the  speech  of  the  Imperial  Chan- 
cellor. I  stop  and  have  a  genuine  sensa- 
tion of  horror  as  I  read  in  it:  "At  this 
moment  our  troops  are  in  Belgium.  Neces- 
sity knows  no  law.  We  shall  repair  this 
wrong." 

I  scarcely  had  time  to  say  how  lamentably 
we  shall  now  stand  before  Europe  and 
before  the  smaller  states,  when  I  learned  by 
telephone  that  England  has  just  declared 
war  on  us.  Immediately  thereafter  further 
Wolff  dispatches  come  to  my  home — Sir 
Edward  Grey's  explanations  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  which  already  foreshadow 
war  with  Germany  on  account  of  Belgium; 
the  rejection  of  the  German  ultimatum  to 
Belgium,  permitting  us  an  unhindered  pas- 
sage through  Belgium  into  France. 

I  collect  my  thoughts  and  find  that  our 
irruption  into  Belgium  means  for  us  a  fright- 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  53 

ful  moral  expiation — that  we  have  dealt 
more  unscrupulously  even  than  Bismarck 
did  and  that  a  victorious  war  will  not  rein- 
state us  in  the  confidence  of  Europe  or  of 
the  rest  of  the  world. 

That  reasons  of  strategy  had  induced  the 
invasion  of  Belgium  was,  of  course,  clear 
to  me.  Admitting  the  justice  and  urgency 
of  these  reasons,  nevertheless  our  whole 
conduct  toward  Belgium  was  so  brutal,  so 
tricky,  so  against  all  political  committals 
and  obligations,  so  poorly  prepared  for  by 
diplomatic  means,  that  Belgium  could  not 
possibly  assent  without  becoming  con- 
temptible for  all  time.  Therefore,  we  could 
not  expect  compliance  on  the  part  of  Bel- 
gium; for  we  ought  to  have  considered 
among  the  possibilities  of  our  policy  the 
crushing  of  Belgium,  the  destruction  of  her 
cities,  the  annihilation  of  her  armies  and, 
even  more,  the  oppression  of  her  whole 
people,  who  would  be  obliged  to  oppose  the 
invaders,  even  though  with  the  extremest 


54  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

reluctance.  And  a  seizure  of  Belgium 
would  have  involved  a  certain  delay,  and 
an  employment  of  German  military  forces 
which  might  scarcely  fall  short  of  that 
required  for  the  prosecution  of  the  most 
exacting  campaign  on  the  Franco-German 
border,  leaving  out  of  accoimt  the  fact  that 
the  theater  of  war  would  have  to  undergo 
considerable  complication  and  extension. 

I  went  to-da^  among  ajl  those  of  whom 
I  expected  a  clear  view  and  a  correct  un- 
derstanding of  the  act  of  violence  committed 
against  Belgium,  and  I  did  not  conceal  my 
disgust.  Unfortimately,  I  found  nobody 
who  agreed  with  me.  One  said:  "If  we 
had  not  marched  into  Belgium,  the  French 
would  have." 

I  answered :  "  I  do  not  believe  that.  Why 
should  the  French  commit  themselves  to 
such  an  adventure,  which  would  scatter 
their  already  inferior  forces?  In  any  case 
we  could  have  waited,  without  any  danger, 
until  the  French  had  taken  such  a  step. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  55 

News  of  the  first  French  movement  in 
that  direction  would  have  reached  us  in 
plenty  of  time." 

The  rtmiors  in  circulation  to  the  effect 
that  the  French  are  already  in  Belgium  are 
entirely  incredible.  One  needs  only  to 
consider  the  matter  a  little  in  order  to  say 
to  himself  that  in  that  case  the  Belgians 
would  be  taking  hostile  action  against  the 
French,  just  as  they  are  now  taking  it 
against  us.  Belgium  has  long  had  no 
greater  apprehension  than  a  violation  of 
her  independence  and  neutrality.  You  can 
read  in  all  the  papers  that  before  our  entry 
into  Belgium,  sentiment  there  was  not  un- 
favorable to  us.  But  even  if  popular  senti- 
ment had  been  entirely  pro -French,  I  hold 
it  to  be  absolutely  impossible  that  the  Bel- 
gians would  have  made  common  cause  with 
the  French.  They  were  in  no  way  convinced 
that  France  would  win  and  they  would  have 
had  every  reason  to  fear  our  vengeance. 

No,  the  Belgians  were  determined,  just 


56  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

like  the  Hollanders,  to  preserve  their  neu- 
trality in  every  respect.  Otherwise  they 
would  quickly  have  yielded  to  the  Germans, 
whose  power  they  feared  most. 

Another  one  said:  "You  must  have  con- 
fidence in  our  Great  General  Staff.  It 
knew  why  it  was  obliged  to  march  into 
Belgium,  and  would  not  have  done  so 
without  the  most  imperative  reasons.  Pre- 
sumably by  threatening  the  French  from 
their  northern  boimdary,  they  will  compel 
the  French  strategists  to  abandon  the 
invasion  of  Alsace-Lorraine  and  to  turn 
toward  the  north.  What  confusion  this 
will  cause  among  the  French  you  can  easily 
imagine.  At  the  same  time  we  shall  break 
through  by  way  of  Alsace-Lorraine  and 
envelop  the  enemy  from  two  sides.  Per- 
haps we  shall  only  stand  on  the  defensive 
in  Alsace-Lorraine  and  reach  Paris  through 
Belgiimi — with  much  less  bloodshed.  How- 
ever that  may  be,  we  ought  not  to  criticize, 
but  reserve  our  opinions." 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  57 

I  replied:  "Strategical  advantages  may 
be  promised  by  the  invasion  of  Belgium, 
but  I  have  heard  no  satisfactory  reason 
which  proves  its  necessity.  There  is  a 
great  difference  there.  The  King  of  the 
Belgians,  a  German  prince,  said  justly  that 
strategical  advantages  do  not  supersede 
sworn  agreements.  Moreover,  even  the 
strategical  benefits  are  lost  to  a  consider- 
able degree  if  we  are  not  assured  of  an 
unhindered  passage." 

A  third  said  to  me:  "We  must  go  ahead 
whether  we  are  right  or  wrong;  whether 
it  was  a  question  of  necessity  or  merely  of 
arbitrary  action  in  this  Belgian  matter 
makes  no  difference;  the  main  thing  is 
that  we  are  the  strongest.  We  must  prove 
this  to  the  world  and  dispose  of  everybody 
who  opposes  us  by  punching  him  in  the 
face  until  he  has  had  enough." 

The  speaker  was  one  of  the  mosi  highly 
educated  and  cultivated  Germans  to  be 
found  anywhere  and,  besides  that,  occupied. 


58  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

as  did  all  the  other  persons  quoted  above, 
a  very  prominent  position. 

I  said  to  him:  "I  am  astonished  how 
little  the  world  consciousness  has  been 
awakened  in  Germany.  Even  the  Romans 
two  thousand  years  ago  would  have  been 
unable  to  rule  the  world  on  such  a  basis. 
Their  power  did  not  lie  in  their  military 
strength,  but  mainly  in  their  even  justice 
and  their  goodwill  toward  greater  and 
smaller  peoples." 

But  it  is  not  these  qualities  alone  which 
the  Germans  of  to-day  lack.  If  German 
policy  consisted  merely  of  selfishness  and 
calculation,  it  would,  because  of  the  lack  of 
higher  and  nobler  aims,  still  be  less  con- 
temptible than  it  is  to-day  by  reason  of 
its  strong  infusion  of  brutality. 

This  will  bring  its  own  retribution,  as 
soon  as  all  nations  perceive  that  they  may 
any  day  suffer  the  fate  of  Belgium  at  Ger- 
many's hands.  I  respect  the  King  of  the 
Belgians    because    he    would    not    debase 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  59 

himself.  His  lot  would  have  been  shameful 
if  he  had  allowed  himself  to  retain  his 
sovereignty  through  Prussia's  favor  and 
if  the  Kaiser,  with  gracious  contempt,  had 
patted  him  on  the  shoulder  and  testified 
thus  to  his  sincere  friendship. 

It  may  be  somewhat  different  with  Lux- 
emburg, which  we  have  also  seized.  This 
country  was  too  small  to  be  able  to  defend 
itself  even  for  a  minute,  and  it  is  conceiv- 
able that  the  Grand  Duchess  protected  her 
little  Duchy  and  her  people  from  a  terrible 
fate,  when  she  attempted  no  resistance. 
Since  Luxemburg  could  also  not  have  de- 
fended herself  against  the  French,  yielding 
to  Germany  was  in  a  way  justified.  It 
remains  to  be  noted  that  in  Luxemburg, 
too,  the  French  made  no  effort  to  break 
in  first.  So  our  simultaneous  advance 
into  Belgium  gives  a  worse  appearance 
to  our  invasion  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of 
Luxemburg,  whose  population,  like  the 
Belgians,  will  have  an  opinion  about  Ger- 


6o  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

man   morality    which    generations    cannot 
efface. 


August  6th. 

No  note  of  protest  on  Belgium's  account 
in  all  our  public  and  private  opinion !  The 
well-known  Pastor  Traub  said  in  an  article 
in  the  Kölnischer  Zeitung,  with  a  boister- 
ousness  characteristic  of  the  Prussian  Pro- 
testant type:  "Whoever  wishes  to  criticize 
this  step  is  a  traitor.  The  fact  that  the 
Imperial  Chancellor  has  confessed  our  wrong 
makes  it  a  right." 

That  is  what  the  world  has  to  expect 
from  men  who  pose  in  Germany  as  liberal, 
radical,  and  unorthodox. 

While  there  are  in  Germany  no  criticism 
and  no  exchange  of  opinion  and  one  must 
choose  between  a  corpse-like  obedience  or 
proscription,  many  large  circles  in  England, 
we  read,  are  protesting  against  the  war. 
We  are  glad  to  hear  that;  but  in  our  own 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  6i 

country  one  must  sacrifice  to  authority 
reason  as  well  as  life  and  property.  One 
may  ask  neither  himself  nor  others  whether 
a  command  emanates  from  humane  con- 
victions or  is  based  on  righteousness.  And 
such  a  country  believes  that  it  is  able  to 
govern  other  countries,  although  it  is  itself 
founded  upon  compulsion  and  is  controlled 
by  opinion  not  freely  arrived  at! 

The  manner  in  which  the  Kaiser  yes- 
terday conducted  himself  with  the  party 
committees  of  the  Reichstag  is  very  chajrac- 
teristic  of  conditions  with  us.  He  says  sud- 
denly: "And  now  advance,  all  of  you,  and 
promise  me  with  a  handshake  to  be  with 
me  and  to  stick  with  me  to  the  last  breath." 

Each  one  clasps  the  Kaiser's  hand  be- 
cause, being  in  the  Royal  Palace,  he  can 
hardly  do  otherwise,  and  is  reluctant  to 
disturb  the  great  occasion.  This  expedient 
to  extract  a  promise,  which  could  have  been 
of  value  only  if  freely  given,  is  very  simple, 
but  was  surely  unworthy. 


62  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

It  fits  into  the  whole  picture  that  the 
Kaiser  immediately  afterwards,  dropping 
from  the  formal  manner  of  speech  into  the 
colloquial,  says  to  a  Deputy  who  is  about 
to  go  to  the  front:  "Now  we  will  thrash 
the  life  out  of  them,"  and  accompanies  it 
by  an  appropriate  gesture  with  his  arm. 
But  all  Germany  jubilates  over  the  inspir- 
ing vow  and  the  unconventional  phrase  of 
the  JCaiser. 

The  Kaiser  also  said  that  from  now  on 
he  would  recognize  parties  no  longer,  but 
only  Germans.  We  shall  see  about  that 
after  peace  comes  and  the  warfare  of  parties 
begins  anew.  No  party  will  fail  to  ma^e 
greater  demands  than  ever,  and  the  disunity 
of  domestic  politics  will  become  more  fright- 
ful than  it  was  before.  Putting  aside  class, 
race,  and  religious  conflicts,  the  antagonisms 
between  the  federated  states  will  be  in- 
creased, not  diminished.  Only  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  Prussian  hegemony  and  the 
destruction  of  the  ruling  ideas  and  classes 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  63 

in  Prussia  could  solidify  the  German  peoples 
into  a  real  nation. 

It  seems  to  me  as  if  serious  internal 
disturbances  must  come  even  during  the 
war.  The  war  enthusiasm,  which  to-day 
affects  all  circles,  will  soon  die  down. 
In  my  judgment  the  first  great  battles  and 
losses  will  bring  about  a  reaction  to  serious- 
ness and  then  to  war  weariness.  To-day 
many  go  freely  into  the  army  to  whom  the 
daily  struggle  for  existence  heretofore  has 
been  too  hard;  who  wish  to  escape  their 
obligations;  who  are  eager  to  get  ahead 
rapidly  and  look  for  large  new  opportunities 
in  the  period  after  the  war.  There  is  a 
Special  keenness  to  serve  in  the  Landsturm, 
which  has  been  called  out  in  part  and  which 
will  run  no  great  bodily  risks. 

For  many  Germans  it  is  an  attractive 
prospect  to  be  abie  to  drift  about,  supported 
for  a  considerable  period  by  the  State, 
dressed  in  uniform  and  surrounded  with 
comforts,    freed    also    from    the    necessity 


64  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

of  giving  any  thought  to  the  responsibilities 
with  which  they  were  previously  burdened. 
The  State  has  called  us  out ;  it  must  provide 
for  everything.  State,  city,  and  private 
associations  are  organizing  a  thousand  relief 
enterprises.  Both  now  and  later,  so  the 
soldier  believes,  someone  will  have  to  help 
him  and  his  fajmily.  Both  now  and  later 
the  State,  the  community,  and  employers 
of  labor  will  have  to  show  him  exceptional 
consideration. 

But  this  state  of  mind  will  not  last  long. 
Opinion  will  change.  Patriotic  noise-mak- 
ers will  try  to  cry  it  down,  but  the  heart  of 
the  masses  will  more  and  more  urgently 
demand  the  return  of  the  men  in  the  field. 
The  men  in  the  field  will  themselves  long 
more  and  more  to  get  home,  richer  for  a 
grisly  experience  and  probably  also  for  a 
deep  disillusionment. 

How  long  must  the  political  wire-pullers 
wait  after  the  war  until  this  experience  is 
forgotten  or  is  softened  so  much  in  memory 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  65 

that  they  can  make  an  impression  again 
on  the  people  with  their  fairy  tales  of  immi- 
nent peril  and  their  forecasts  of  a  glorious 
future?  Ah,  if  the  peoples  of  Europe,  rep- 
resented by  real  leaders,  chosen  from  among 
themselves,  would  take  their  fate  into  their 
own  hands;  if  they  would  learn  to  know 
themselves  as  they  are;  if  they  would 
formulate  for  themselves  the  principles 
according  to  which  they  wish  to  live,  they 
would  suddenly  discover  that  they  all 
think  alike  and  wish  the  same  things. 
The  whole  continent  would  become  a 
single  nation,  tariff  barriers  would  disap- 
pear, everyone  could  speak  his  own  mother 
tongue,  and  no  nation  would  want  to  op- 
press, dismember,  or  despise  another. 

The  causes  which  still  lead  to  wars  do 
not  grow  out  of  the  present-day  views  of 
the  peoples  of  Europe  and  are  not  the 
expression  of  their  most  vital  instincts. 
It  is  the  alien  ideas  of  a  few  for  which  the 
peoples  must  fight.     The  only  perils  are 


66  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

those  which  these  few  have  conjured  up, 
but  for  which  the  masses  of  the  people  also 
must  bear  some  responsibility.  Credulous 
where  their  rulers  are  concerned,  the  peoples 
allow  themselves  to  be  made  distrustful 
of  one  another  and  remain  stupid  sheep, 
filled  with  uneasy  fears  and  superstitions. 
Nothing  is  more  frightful  than  such  dull 
herds,  which  any  one,  when  need  be,  can 
inoculate  with  mental  epidemics.  They 
remain  always  intellectually  blind;  they 
do  indifferently  what  is  bad  or  what  is 
good,  without  any  inner  knowledge.  They 
yield  to  the  mighty  stream  of  mass  move- 
ments, whether  these  movements  are  led 
by  an  angel,  dominated  by  a  devil,  or  incited 
by  a  ghostly  phantom. 

There  should  be  no  more  such  mass  move- 
ments, either  for  good  or  for  bad  purposes. 
It  should  be  as  it  is  now  with  religions  and 
sects,  which  are  ready  to  set  nations  and 
families  by  the  ears,  but  by  which  no  war- 
like eruption  can  any  longer  be  staged  in 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  67 

Europe,  however  intense  and  intolerant 
the  religious  prejudices  of  individuals  may 
be. 


August  7th. 

Italy  remains  neutral,  apparently  be- 
cause the  condition  of  the  Triple  Alliance 
defensive  treaty — an  attack  on  Germany — 
has  not  been  fulfilled.  Further,  perhaps,  be- 
cause she  was  not  at  any  time  from  the 
beginning  admitted  into  the  confidence  of 
Berlin  and  Vienna  or  asked  her  opinion, 
these  two  powers  preferring  to  present  to 
her  an  accomplished  fact.  Probably  also 
because  her  undefended  coasts  do  not  per- 
mit her  to  reckon  with  England  as  an 
enemy. 

Officially,  a  moderate  tone  toward  Italy 
is  recommended.  There  is  a  very  good 
reason  for  this.  That  Italy  would  not 
march  by  the  side  of  Austria-Hungary 
seemed  to  me  always  to  be  expected.    The 


68  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

Triple  Alliance  has  demonstrated  its  value 
if  Italy  so  far  recognizes  past  obligations  as 
not  to  engage  in  hostilities  against  Austria- 
Hungary,  for  which  there  would  be  much 
excuse  and  for  which  there  is  also  much 
inclination  on  the  part  of  the  Italian  people. 


Austria-Himgary  declared  war  on  Russia 
only  yesterday.  This  deliberation  is  note- 
worthy in  view  of  the  lightning-like  action 
of  the  German  Kaiser.  What  must  it 
have  cost  the  aged  Francis  Joseph,  in  the 
way  of  overcoming  his  personal  reluctance, 
to  agree  to  this  declaration  of  war.  I  am 
firmly  convinced  that  they  importuned 
him  and  tricked  him,  never  keeping  him 
informed  of  what  was  really  going  on.  He 
might  very  well  have  been  persuaded  into 
action  against  Serbia.  But  they  had  given 
him  assurances  that  a  further  extension  of 
the  war  was  out  of  the  question.  Now,  he 
will  have  war  also  with  France  and  England 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  69 

and  will  perhaps  die  while  all  about  him 
the  flames  of  this  world  conflagration  are 
still  blazing.  He  will  believe  that  demons 
alone  unchained  the  wild  procedure  of  his 
Imperial  Ally  and  that  he  only  furnished 
the  latter  with  aid  pledged  by  treaty,  while 
really  his  own  Vienna  entourage  has  either 
incited  or  really  captured  the  Kaiser  in 
Berlin. 

Even  now  Francis  Joseph  seems  to  his 
enemies  a  knightly,  sympathetic  figure. 
No  one  casts  a  stain  upon  him,  as  upon  our 
Kaiser;  for  personally  he  did  not  threaten, 
he  did  not  cry  aloud,  he  did  not  incite. 
When  he  turned  to  his  people  with  an  appeal, 
it  was  couched  in  warm  and  generous 
phrases,  without  any  offensive  and  hateful 
expressions. 


Our  authorities  are  striving  more  and  more 
energetically  to  allay  the  trouble  which 
they  themselves  brought  on — namely,  the 


70  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

search  by  the  public  for  automobiles  carry- 
ing enemy  gold  and  for  spies.  This  has 
become  a  peril  for  everybody.  Many 
Prussian  officers  have  been  shot  while  on 
automobile  tours.  The  official  order  now 
runs:  "Watchfulness,  but  no  spy  panic." 

August  8th. 

Yesterday  evening  the  news  came  that 
Liege  had  been  taken  by  storm.  The 
Army  Commander,  von  Emmich,  personally 
led  the  troops  under  fire.  No  one  of  us 
would  have  thought  it  possible  that  the 
first  quickly  mobilized  troops  could  take 
such  a  fortress  offhand.  I  was  almost 
tempted  to  an  involuntary  pride  over  this 
exploit.  But  the  frightful  crime  and  the 
frightful  sacrifices  involved  forbid  such 
feeling. 

To-day  we  hear  of  a  bold  naval  stroke.  A 
small  unarmed  steamer  has  laid  mines  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Thames,  but  is  shot  to 
pieces  because  it  refused  to  surrender.     At 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  71 

the  same  time  an  EngHsh  cruiser  is  destroyed 
by  one  of  the  freshly  planted  mines.  There 
is  a  rtimor  that  the  German  fleet  will 
quickly  seek  a  great  sea  battle.  If  the 
German  fleet  were  destroyed,  the  greater 
part  of  the  English  fleet  would  be  destroyed 
also.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  German 
fleet  ought  to  await  quietly  the  progress 
of  events  on  land.  The  English  cannot  do 
anything  against  the  German  North  Sea 
coast.  They  cannot  penetrate  into  the 
Baltic  Sea. 


One  can  now  form  a  rather  comprehen- 
sive picture  of  the  acts  of  violence  com- 
mitted at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  in  the 
various  countries  against  the  subjects  of 
enemy  nations.  These  scenes,  with  descrip- 
tions of  which  all  the  newspapers  are  filled, 
will  never  fade  from  memory.  I  shall  not 
recall  that  in  Belgium,  especially  in  Antwerp 
and  Brussels,  Germans  were  dragged  from 


72  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

their  dwellings,  thrown  out  of  the  hospitals, 
kuled  in  the  streets;  that  their  stores  were 
robbed  and  demolished,  and  that  they  were 
driven  by  thousands  across  the  frontier  to 
Holland  in  the  most  inhuman  manner. 
For  in  Belgium  there  was  such  great  animo- 
sity as  to  make  it  comprehensible  that  the 
police  for  a  few  days  could  not  or  would  not 
protect  the  Germans. 

But  that  also  in  France  they  proceeded 
no  less  brutally  against  the  many  thousands 
of  innocent  and  harmless  Germans  who 
were  surprised  by  the  outbreak  of  the  war, 
and,  who,  besides,  did  everything  in  order 
to  make  themselves  inconspicuous,  is  a  dis- 
grace to  European  civilization.  In  Eng- 
land they  were  less  violent,  but  a  great 
number  of  Germans  were  arrested  as  spies, 
and  it  is  to  be  feared  that,  owing  to  martial 
law  and  a  biased  public  opinion,  in  most 
cases  a  noose  awaits  these  unfortunates, 
who  until  now  have  tranquilly  enjoyed 
the  hospitality  of  England. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  73 

The  spy  hysteria  seems  to  me  a  terrible 
madness,  which  the  governments  do  not  al- 
low to  subside,  although  it  is  almost  as 
fantastic  as  the  belief  in  witchcraft.  One 
real  spy  is  not  to  be  found  among  ten 
thousand  foreigners  who  have  settled  in 
another  country  and  wish  to  stay  there. 
Unless  one  wanted  to  do  mischief  merely 
with  words  and  ideas!  The  spies  certainly 
are  quite  a  different  class  of  people.  Little 
news  has  reached  us  yet  from  Russia;  but 
it  is  said  that  there,  too,  as  in  France,  many 
peaceful  Germans  have  been  imprisoned, 
interned  in  remote  districts,  and  compelled 
to  perform  hard  labor  for  a  living. 

It  seems  to  me  that  in  this  respect  the 
German  population  conducted  itself  most 
decently,  inasmuch  as  there  was  no  incite- 
ment on  the  part  of  the  authorities,  as 
there  was  in  the  detection  of  spies.  The 
Germans  did  not  beat  and  insult  English- 
men, Russians,  and  Frenchmen  who  wanted 
to  leave  the  country.      Foreigners  liable  to 


74  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

serve  in  the  army  were  detained  after  other 
countries  had  started  doing  the  same  thing. 
But  they  were  well  cared  for. 

I  have  nowhere  heard  of  a  systematic,  or 
even  occasional  persecution  of  people  merely 
because  they  belonged  to  an  enemy  nation. 
Excesses  that  occurred  were  directed  against 
alleged  spies  and  had  almost  exclusively 
Germans  for  their  victims.  There  was 
nowhere  hate  against  a  foreigner  on  account 
of  his  being  a  foreigner.  I  know  from  my 
own  experience  that  no  one  injured  the 
many  foreigners  settled  in  my  town,  but 
that,  on  the  contrary,  everybody  was  ready 
to  help  them  to  get  safely,  comfortably,  and 
without  hindrance  across  the  frontier. 

An  Englishman,  in  the  thirties,  was 
arrested  only  when  it  became  known  that 
Germans  in  England  were  being  arrested. 
But  a  colleague  of  his  had  already  been 
provided  with  a  safe-conduct  and  was 
furnished  with  a  conveyance.  A  young 
French  engineer  was  assisted  and  enabled 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  75 

to  depart,  regardless  of  his  liability  or  non- 
liability to  army  service.  I  could  cite  many 
more  such  instances. 

It  was  more  natural  to  the  German 
character  to  molest  representative  foreign- 
ers, who  seemed  responsible  for  enemy  policy 
than  private  persons,  who  were  as  innocent 
of  influencing  events  as  were  the  masses 
of  the  Germans  themselves.  In  fact,  two 
outbreaks  occurred  at  Berlin.  When  the 
Russian  Ambassador  and  his  staff  were 
going  in  open  automobiles  to  the  railroad 
station,  and  some  of  his  people,  according 
to  rumor,  behaved  rudely  in  the  presence 
of  the  crowd,  the  Berliners  used  canes  and 
imibrellas.  The  mob  also  smashed  some 
windows  of  the  English  Embassy  when  the 
declaration  of  war  by  England  became 
known,  but  was  soon  quieted  by  the  Police 
President,  who  hurried  to  the  scene.  How- 
ever deplorable  these  excesses  are,  they 
cannot  be  compared  with  the  events  in 
St.  Petersburg,  where  the  German  Embassy 


76  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

was  demolished  and  an  aged  official,  left 
to  take  care  of  the  building,  was  torn  to 
pieces;  or  with  the  occurrences  in  Paris, 
where  the  German  Ambassador  was  threat- 
ened in  the  streets  as  well  as  at  his  house. 

August  9th, 
The  General  Staff  kindles  new  exultation 
by  the  report:  "Liege  is  in  our  hands." 
This  report,  it  is  thought,  gives  the  lie  to 
the  rumors  from  abroad  to  the  effect  that 
we  are  not  yet  in  possession  of  the  forts. 
But  I  learn  from  a  reliable  source  that  some 
of  the  forts  are  still  holding  out.  It  seems, 
therefore,  that  our  official  military  reports 
must  be  taken  with  a  grain  of  salt. 

Germany,  in  common  with  Austria-Him- 
gary,  promises  the  Poles  "Liberation  from 
the  Moscovite  yoke."  If  Prussia  were  at 
war  with  Austria,  she  would,  in  a  similar 
manner  appeal  to  the  population  of  the 
glorious  kingdom  of  Bohemia.  The  pur- 
pose is  so  dirty  as  to  soil  the  noble  word 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  ']'j 

"Liberation."  Nor  should  we  Germans 
dare  to  talk  of  "the  Muscovite  yoke."  We 
wear  a  yoke  ourselves,  more  decorative, 
to  be  sure,  but  even  more  galling.  And 
we  have  subjected  the  Poles  more  systema- 
tically to  infamous  treatment  than  the 
Russians  have.  We  continue  to  persecute 
the  Danes  and  Alsatians  to  the  point  of 
death.  But  the  Poles  are  to  be  allowed,  for  a 
certain  period,  to  breathe  the  fresh  air  and 
to  receive  a  better  prison  fare,  in  order  that 
they  may  advertise  to  their  brethren,  who 
languish  in  Russia,  the  glory  of  Prussia, 
and  encourage  them  to  overpower  the 
Russian  jailer. 

For  it  must  be  well  understood  that  in 
Prussia  no  one  intends  giving  the  Poles 
anything  at  Prussian  expense.  The  Prus- 
sian frontiers  must  remain  inflexible,  like 
the  outlines  of  the  hard-hearted,  ignoble 
conception  of  the  Prussian  state.  The 
purpose  is  simply  to  incite  the  Poles  against 
the  Czar  because  one  happens  to  fall  out 


78  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

with  him — to  rob  him  of  chattels,  which  we 
both  once  stole  and  partitioned  between  us. 
Prussia  simply  wants  to  make  the  war  easier 
for  herself.  She  has  not  a  vestige  of  love 
or  of  esteem  for  the  soul  or  body  of  the 
unhappy  Polish  people.  I  have  always 
firmly  maintained  that  the  subjugation  of 
Poland  could  never  be  achieved,  even 
though  three  emperors  should  sit  on  the 
coffin  of  Polish  freedom,  because  so  long 
as  the  Poles  lived  they  would  defend  them- 
selves. I  am  therefore  filled  with  bitter- 
ness to  see  what  incitements  are  necessary 
in  order  to  convert  Prussia  into  a  friend  of 
the  Russian  Poles. 

Only  yesterday  I  had  the  opportunity 
to  learn  from  the  man  who  formerly  elabo- 
rated the  smart  Polish  expropriation  pol- 
icy, that  the  creation  of  Russian  Poland 
into  an  independent  state  could  not  be 
conceded  if  all  the  Prussian  Poles  were 
to  be  embraced  in  it,  after  a  correction  of  the 
frontiers  favorable  to  Prussia.     All  owners 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  79 

of  large  landed  properties  would  have  to 
be  dispossessed  and  their  estates  given 
to  such  Germans  as  are  taken  over  from 
Russia.  The  peasants  could  not,  of  course, 
be  expelled,  village  by  village,  but  arrange- 
ments would  have  to  be  made  with  the 
Russian  Poles  to  insure  a  gradual  absorp- 
tion of  the  Prussian  Poles.  However  ab- 
surd this  idea  may  be,  I  know  that  it  was 
a  subject  of  lively  discussion  and  was 
approved  by  many  influential  people. 

August  nth. 

To-day  the  Quartermaster- General  de- 
clares to  spellbound  Germany  that  the 
High  Command  will  tell  the  public  every- 
thing, will  keep  nothing  secret  from  it,  or 
try  to  mince  matters.  It  will  keep  silence 
only  when  prevented  from  speaking  by 
strategical  reasons. 

After  assimiing  this  pose  the  General 
Staff  announces  to-day  that  some  of  the 
forts   about    Liege   are   still    holding    out. 


8o  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

True,  most  of  us  had  learned  this  before; 
still  one  feels  relieved  to  think  that  official 
information  now  coincides  with  private 
information. 

Our  newspapers  announce  that  England 
has  commandeered  for  her  own  use  the 
completed  and  the  almost  completed  ships 
which  English  private  shipbuilding  firms 
were  constructing  for  Turkey.  Official 
articles  speak  of  this  as  an  unheard-of 
violation  of  international  law  on  England's 
part,  since  Turkey  is  a  neutral  country. 
Turkey  is  urged  to  expel  all  Englishmen 
within  her  territory.  The  whole  world 
is  called  to  witness  this  shameful  offense 
against  Turkey,  which  discloses  the  very 
contemptible  policy  of  the  EngHsh,  in 
general  and  in  particular.  All  countries 
are  advised  to  avoid  having  any  dealings 
with  England  in  the  future. 

I  cannot  comment  better  on  talk  of  this 
sort  than  by  making  the  following  observa- 
tion :  The  War  Department  and  the  Marine 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  8i 

Office  in  Berlin  have  commandeered  from 
the  first  day  of  the  war  all  artillery  and  ship 
material  under  construction  in  Germany 
for  foreign  countries,  without  agreements 
of  any  sort  with  these  countries,  among 
which  are  Argentina,  Norway,  Brazil, 
Chile,  Switzerland,  Rimiania,  Greece,  and 
and  Bulgaria.  Settlement  with  the  Gov- 
ernments affected  was  left  to  the  Ger- 
man private  firms,  whom  the  authorities 
naturally  assured  against  loss.  Germany 
thus  censures  England  for  doing  what  she 
herself  has  done  for  a  long  time  on  grounds 
of  military  necessity.  One  cannot  carry 
vilification  further.  Moreover,  Germany 
is  not  the  guardian  of  Turkey,  which  in 
recent  years  has  chosen  quite  different 
godfathers. 


August  1 2th. 
At  the  demand  of  England  and  France 
the  Austro-Hungarian  ambassadors  in  Lon- 


82  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

don  and  Paris  have  left  their  posts.  The 
French  and  English  ambassadors  are  to 
quit  Vienna  as  soon  as  they  have  delivered 
their  Governments'  declarations  of  war 
on  Austria-Himgary.  At  last!  The  aged 
Kaiser  certainly  never  believed  personally 
that  the  step  taken  against  Serbia  would 
lead  so  far. 


For  the  first  time  since  the  beginning  of 
the  war,  the  newspapers  print  news  coming 
from  abroad:  for  instance,  telegrams  from 
Paris  which  have  reached  Germany  through 
neutral  countries.  Up  to  now  this  round- 
about route  has  been  almost  unused.  We 
were,  as  regards  the  rest  of  the  world,  given 
over  to  the  mercy  of  the  few  laconic  an- 
nouncements of  the  Wolff  Bureau.  It  is  to 
be  hoped  that  the  foreign  press  is  to  be  put 
promptly  and  permanently  at  our  disposal, 
even  though  only  through  the  extracts 
which  the  larger  newspapers  publish.     For 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  83 

a  comparison  between  domestic  and  foreign 
bulletins  is  necessary  in  order  to  get  closer 
to  the  truth.  It  is  hard  to  imagine  greater 
contradictions,  for  instance,  than  those  be- 
tween the  German  and  the  French  reports 
on  the  military  operations  in  Alsace.  The 
French  announce  their  entry  into  Altheim 
and  Mülhausen;  the  Germans  announce 
that  the  French  were  unable  to  get  a  foot- 
ing at  any  point  at  which  they  had  crossed 
the  border. 


The  female  population  of  Germany  is 
said  to  have  shown  itself  in  the  war  of 
1870-71  too  friendly  to  the  French  prison- 
ers, to  have  nursed  them  by  choice,  to  have 
relieved  them  and  sympathized  with  them, 
while  the  German  wounded  were  more  or 
less  neglected  by  their  countryrv^omen  and 
often  had  to  be  contented  with  bread  and 
water.  Veterans  of  the  war  of  1870-71 
still   look   back   with    annoyance    at   that 


84  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

experience  and  various  German  papers 
have  taken  occasion  to  warn  German 
women  and  girls  most  emphatically  against 
yielding  this  time  to  such  inclinations.  This 
seems  not  to  have  helped  much,  since  the 
women  of  Düsseldorf  are  being  now  lec- 
tured because  when  the  first  transport  of 
Belgian  prisoners  arrived  they  spoke  to  the 
captives  in  French  and  also  offered  them 
delicacies.  While  the  intervention  of  the 
railroad  station  police  is  demanded,  the  press 
falls  into  so  rude  a  tone  against  the  formerly 
so  esteemed  daughters  of  Germania  that  I 
cannot  resist  an  ironic  remark  about  Teu- 
tonic gallantry.  I  can  understand  why  the 
ladies  feel  so  wonderfully  attracted  by  those 
cattle  cars  out  of  which  sometimes,  for  a 
change,  no  pale,  blond  countryman,  with 
watery  blue  eyes,  languishes  for  a  cooling 
drink. 

August  13th. 
Yesterday  evening  an  official  announce- 
ment came  that  as  a  result  of  the  battles 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  85 

at  Mülhausen  and  La  Garde  no  French 
soldier  was  left  on  German  soil.  The 
papers  add  that  the  French  proclamations 
were  thrown  into  Mülhausen  out  of  aero- 
planes and  were  not  brought  there  in  person 
by  the  soldiery.  Under  such  circumstances 
I  do  not  know  what  to  think  of  the  entirely 
different  French  bulletins.  The  solemn 
and  pathetic  entry  of  the  French  (the 
announcement  of  Joffre  to  Poincare  about 
the  first  successes  and  the  frantic  joy  of 
the  Alsatians,  the  proclamation  of  Joffre 
to  the  Alsatian  population,  the  congratula- 
tory dispatches  of  the  French  Minister  of 
War,  etc.)  had  made  me  think  that  the 
French  had  established  themselves  on  quite 
a  different  footing  in  Alsace. 


To-day  the  big  cruiser  Goeben  and  the 
Breslau  are  on  everybody's  tongue.  These 
two  ships  found  themselves,  after  their 
bombardment   of   the  harbors  of  Algeria, 


86  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

in  Messina,  where  they  went  to  coal,  and 
succeeded  in  escaping  the  English  ships 
waiting  for  them  to  come  out  of  port.  How 
this  was  possible  one  cannot  tell,  except 
on  fuller  news.  They  cannot  go  to  Pola; 
the  Austrian  fleet  itself  has  long  been  block- 
aded there.  Perhaps  they  are  on  the  way 
to  Constantinople?  It  seems  as  if  Turkey 
wants  to  declare  war  on  Russia. 

August  14th. 
The  English  a  few  days  ago  took  the 
colony  of  Togo  away  from  the  Germans. 
Further  activities  in  the  colonial  posses- 
sions will  doubtless  follow,  although  a  war 
between  white  men  is  perhaps  more  shame- 
ful there  than  it  is  at  home.  It  may  be 
that  the  Japanese  will  help  a  little  in  the 
Pacific  Ocean — to  take  away  Kiau-chau, 
etc.  But  all  that,  with  the  stakes  as  they 
are  at  present,  cuts  no  figure.  And  in  any 
case  is  not  to  be  avoided. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  87 

A  gentleman  who  comes  from  Liege  in- 
forms me  that  we  took  the  last  forts  yester- 
day. The  42-centimeter  guns,  on  wheels, 
which  were  forwarded  there  on  August  loth 
(no  railroad  axles  for  the  two  pieces)  had 
destroyed  these  stubborn  forts  in  two  and 
a  half  hours.  It  does  not  create  confidence 
in  our  official  German  news  service  that  it 
announced  the  fall  of  Liege  a  week  ago, 
without  admitting  that  several  important 
forts  had  not  yet  been  taken. 


We  hear  rumors  that  English  troops 
have  been  landed  at  Calais.  That  seems 
to  me  more  probable  than  a  landing  at 
Antwerp.  In  my  judgment  Belgitmi  will 
not  be  the  scene  of  great  battles.  But  we 
shall  be  obliged  to  keep  strong  forces  there 
in  order  to  protect  us  against  Belgian  up- 
risings. Yet  it  is  useless  to  conjecture 
about  such  matters.  I  am  always  tempted 
to  do  so  because  the  blow  against  Belgium 


88  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

seems  to  me  so  mean  and  odiousr  that  I 
would  gladly  see  evidence  produced  of  its 
needlessness.  At  any  rate,  I  am  satisfied 
that  as  a  result  of  the  Belgian  battles  more 
dirt  than  blood  will  stick  to  the  laurels 
which  the  German  troops  win  in  this  war. 

Before  the  news  came  of  our  entry  into 
Belgium  the  universal  ferment  had  affected 
me,  at  least  so  far  that  I  asked  myself 
whether  I  ought  not  share,  as  a  volunteer, 
the  fortunes  of  our  soldiery,  without  regard 
to  my  personal  point  of  view  and  merely 
out  of  a  natural  impulse  to  be  with  and  by 
those  who  fight  and  must  suffer.  But  the 
attack  on  Belgium  obliterated  this  feeling. 
Not  even  under  compulsion  would  I  now 
go  along.  Why  have  I  convictions,  if  I 
do  not  remain  true  to  them  and  stand  up 
for  them? 


Universal  military   service  is,   in  truth, 
a    crime.     However    much    I    abhor    war 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  89 

between  European  states,  its  damage  and 
horrors  would  be  lessened  immensely  if 
only  volunteer  troops  fought  in  it.  The 
danger  of  war  would  be  far  less  if  there  were 
simply  armies  of  mercenaries,  or  of  citizens 
who  merely  defended  their  own  country. 
Improvements  in  machinery  which  have 
made  it  possible  in  recent  times  to  mobilize 
gigantic  masses  and  to  throw  them  agai^ist 
one  another  have  made  the  situation  darker 
rather  than  brighter. 

One  can  fight  in  various  ways.  The 
least  worthy  way  is  war,  since  victory  in  it 
does  not  demonstrate  the  better  right.  If 
one  could  make  a  compromise  (because 
there  are  doubtless  people  who  want  to  be 
fighters),  then  it  ought  to  take  the  form 
that  everyone  should  be  free  to  choose  the 
kind  of  fighting  he  will  take  part  in.  All 
leaders  get  themselves  into  a  fatal  posi- 
tion, even  when  they  begin  with  the 
noblest  aims,  if  they  do  not  believe  that  their 
cause  can  be  sustained  through  supporters 


90  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

voluntarily  flocking  to  their  banner,  but 
are  confident  of  a  fortunate  outcome  only 
when  they  can  compel  their  fellow  beings 
to  shed  blood.  Should  it  be  the  result  of 
this  war  that  universal  service  and  compul- 
sory military  training  are  banned,  then 
one  could  hail  the  day  on  which  the  war 
broke  out,  even  if  "Europe  had  by  that 
time  been  reduced  to  a  desert. 

Indeed,  there  is  a  second  way  of  escape 
which  must  not  be  forgotten,  when  one 
considers  how  Europe  might  find  peace  and 
concord.  That  way  is  the  abolition  of  all 
customs  barriers.  They  separate  what  na- 
turally ought  to  be  united  and  they  create 
in  every  country  an  artificially  nourished 
clique  and  also  dissatisfied  people,  who 
want  to  attain  by  war  what  they  are 
prevented  from  attaining  in  peace,  chiefly 
because  of  tariff  obstructions.  If  these 
walls  are  once  broken  down,  frictions  in 
the  assessment  of  duty  on  various  kinds  of 
products  will  quickly  vanish.      For  read- 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  91 

justment  comes  very  quickly  and  every 
country  finds  new  possibilities  of  profit 
with  which  to  replace  those  which  have 
disappeared.  The  most  important  thing  is 
this — that  all  shall  come  together  and  that 
no  state  shall  stand  apart.  The  removal 
of  tariff  barriers  will  be  the  beginning  of 
fraternization  in  Europe,  of  the  United 
States  of  Europe,  of  the  uplift  of  the  people 
and  the  spread  of  truth  and  good  faith. 
Freedom  of  trade  is  the  basic  guarantor 
of  unhindered  progress  in  civilization. 

August  15th. 

At  last  I  learn  the  truth  about  Liege.  It 
is  more  imimpressive  than  even  I,  a  skeptic, 
thought  it  would  be.  Yesterday's  report 
was  exaggerated.  A  person,  who  was  com- 
missioned by  the  Minister  of  War  to  examine 
the  conquered  forts  and  make  prepara- 
tions for  their  restoration,  tells  me  what 
follows. 

He  had  difficulty  in  discharging  his  mis- 


92  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

sion,  for  on  the  day  of  his  arrival  in  Li^ge, 
the  1 2th  of  August,  only  one  fort  was  in 
our  hands.  The  others  had  not  yet  sur- 
rendered. Even  the  Minister  of  War  seems 
to  have  interpreted  the  news  of  the  fall  of 
Liege  just  as  the  rest  of  us  did — that  is, 
in  the  sense  that  at  least  a  majority  of  the 
forts  had  been  taken.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  troops  made  their  way  into  Liege  around 
a  single  fort  which  they  had  captured  and 
when  they  got  into  the  city  were  unable  to 
go  any  further. 

During  the  presence  there  of  this  eye- 
witness a  second  fort,  bombarded  by  21- 
centimeter  siege  guns,  had  surrendered. 
Also  a  third  fort,  against  which  two  42- 
centimete^  cannon  had  been  tried  for  the 
first  time.  They  expect  now  that  the  other 
forts  will  fall  quickly.  But  on  the  morning 
of  August  14th,  when  my  informant,  who 
had  been  with  the  42-centimeter  guns,  began 
his  return  journey,  the  Germans  had  only 
three  forts. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  93 

Therefore  I  regard  as  a  swindle  the  official 
annoiincement  of  the  conquest  of  Liege 
and  the  sharp  denials  of  all  statements  to 
the  contrary.  The  extraordinary  jubila- 
tion over  an  unheard-of,  unique  fact  in 
world  history  was  not  justified.  Liege  is 
not  a  fortress  of  the  first  rank.  The  city 
itself  is  unfortified.  The  twelve  outlying 
and  widely  separated  forts  were  garrisoned 
with  artillery  only,  and  no  infantry.  The 
Belgians  had  also  been  unable  to  establish 
lines  of  defense  between  the  forts. 

If  the  penetration  into  Liege  was  not  so 
wonderful  a  military  feat,  the  reduction  of 
the  forts  amounted  to  even  less.  My  artil- 
lery expert,  who  was  present,  observed  that 
the  two  huge  German  siege  guns  fired  at 
a  distance  of  8,000  meters  at  the  third 
fort,  which  made  no  answer,  in  exactly  the 
same  manner  as  we  fire  in  peace  times  on 
an  artillery  proving  ground.  The  guns 
were  surrounded  by  a  great  swarm  of  of- 
ficers, who  wanted  to  see  them  work.     The 


94  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

artillery  observation  posts,  visible  from  a 
great  distance,  could  be  pushed  far  ahead 
toward  the  enemy  forts  without  being  sub- 
jected themselves  to  any  return  fire. 

After  some  forty -five  shots  the  invested 
fort  hoisted  the  white  flag  and  the  garrison 
of  about  350  men  surrendered,  without 
having  suffered  any  losses.  The  moral 
effect  of  the  heavy  shells  and  of  the  gases 
they  released  had  caused  the  garrison  to 
weaken.  The  concrete  structure  of  the 
fort  showed  big  rents.  But  the  guns  had 
remained  intact. 

In  the  opinion  of  my  informant  most  of 
the  German  losses  were  caused  by  the  Bel- 
gian populace.  On  the  trip  to  Liege  his 
auto  was  fired  on  several  times. 

From  his  comments,  which  support  those 
of  officers  of  the  troops,  some  such  picture 
as  this,  of  the  situation,  may  be  drawn. 

The  Belgian  people  had  made  no  prepara- 
tions for  putting  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the 
German  invasion.     But  when  the  protest 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  95 

of  the  Belgian  Government  and  the  appeal 
to  England  for  aid  were  published,  the  whole 
country  became  violently  excited.  Bel- 
gian troops,  which  might  have  resisted  the 
invasion,  were  first  available  only  at  Liege. 
And  there  everything  was  in  confusion. 
At  the  main  railway  stations  scattered 
groups  of  men  formed,  attempted  to  defend 
themselves  and  shot  our  soldiers  out  of 
houses  or  from  behind  barricades. 

It  may  also  be  that  this  sort  of  warfare 
was  begun  by  persons  who  were  soon  to 
enter  the  Belgian  military  service  or  who 
belonged  to  the  citizen  militia,  but  had  not 
yet  left  their  homes.  They  may  have  been 
under  some  semblance  of  military  organiza- 
tion and  in  uniform.  Perhaps  it  was  a 
regular  home  defense  organization,  which 
shot  out  of  houses  before  the  occupants 
had  abandoned  them. 

However  you  explain  it,  suddenly  and 
on  all  sides  our  soldiers  marching  through 
Belgium  were  subjected  to  fire  from  houses 


96  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

and  from  hiding  places.  Many  of  our 
officers  and  men  were  killed  in  this  way. 
Thereafter  our  soldiers  fired  into  the  houses, 
stormed  them  and  set  fire  to  whole  streets, 
so  that  defenseless  and  innocent  people, 
women  and  children,  were  slain.  Entire 
towns  and  villages  were  destroyed. 

For  example,  Herve,  a  little  city  of  5000 
inhabitants,  is  a  mere  mass  of  ruins — no 
living  being  left,  no  house  spared,  all  the 
contents  of  the  dwellings  thrown  into  the 
jitreets ;  in  short,  a  picture  of  almost  incred- 
ible devastation.  And  since,  in  addition, 
wounded  German  soldiers  were  frightfully 
maltreated  and  murdered,  and  even  Red 
Cross  flags  were  not  respected,  the  proce- 
dure of  the  German  troops  against  innocent 
and  suspected  alike,  without  regard  to  age 
or  sex,  became  harsher  and  harsher. 

One  or  two  cases  which  my  informant 
knew  of  personally,  are  here  noted.  In  a 
certain  locality  shots  were  fired  from  houses 
at  troops  passing   through.     German  sol- 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  97 

diers  push  in  from  all  sides  and  open  a  mur- 
derous return  fire.  When  everything  be- 
comes quiet  my  informant  goes  with  an 
officer  into  the  place  and  sees  some  soldiers 
dragging  four  men  and  three  women  out  of 
a  house.  The  soldiers  say  that  there  was 
shooting  from  this  house — that  the  seven 
ought  to  be  executed. 

The  officer  answers:  "Some  of  them  may 
be  innocent.  Bring  them  first  before  your 
superiors,  so  that  they  can  be  questioned  in 
their  own  language." 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  later,  as  the  two 
returned  through  the  same  street,  they  saw 
lying  before  the  house  the  bodies  of  the 
four  men  and  three  women,  around  which 
a  group  of  shrieking,  almost  hysterical 
children  sprawled. 

It  is  no  wonder,  as  my  informant  said, 
that  when  German  soldiers  are  approach- 
ing, crowds  of  Belgians  throw  themselves 
on  their  knees,  lift  their  hands,  to  show  that 
they  are  unarmed,  and  beg  for  mercy. 


98  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

As  the  42 -centimeter  guns,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  my  informant,  were  brought  into 
position  before  Liege,  an  old  man,  who  wore 
a  Red  Cross  band,  was  seen  sitting  near  by. 
They  seized  him  and  demanded  his  identi- 
fication papers.  He  had  only  a  printed  slip 
which  stated  that  the  bearer  belonged  to 
the  Belgian  Red  Cross.  As  this  was  al- 
together unsatisfactory,  they  made  prepa- 
rations to  examine  him  more  thoroughly. 
The  old  man  knelt  down,  expecting  death, 
and  asked  only  that  a  small  package,  which 
he  took  out  of  his  pocket,  should  be  given  to 
his  wife,  who  lived  at  such  and  such  a  place. 

My  informant  took  pity  on  him  and  put 
in  a  good  word  for  him.  Thereupon  two 
soldiers  were  ordered  to  take  him  away  and 
turn  him  loose.  He  could  thank  his  luck 
that  they  didn't  make  short  work  of  him. 

Enough.  The  dreadful  misery  of  this 
peaceful  people  overwhelms  me — a  people, 
which,  according  to  German  reports,  only 
a  few  days  ago  received  the  first  German 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  99 

refugees  from  France  with  the  words: 
*  *  Salut,  messieurs ;  bonjour,  mesdames ;  vous 
^tes  sauves;  vous  6tes  en  Belgique."  [Wel- 
come, gentlemen;  good  day,  ladies;  you 
are  saved;  you  are  in  Belgium. 

August  1 6th. 
News  from  Berlin.  A  gentleman  who 
conferred  the  day  before  with  the  Secre- 
taries of  State  for  the  Marine  and  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  as  well  as  with  high  military 
officials,  is  my  source  of  information.  All 
are  in  the  best  of  himior,  and  highly  con- 
fident of  victory.  In  a  few  days  the  Ger- 
man armies  will  be  going  over  France  like 
a  steam  roller.  Things  have  run  like  clock 
work,  and  will  keep  on  running  just  as 
smoothly.  To-morrow  the  Kaiser  is  to 
visit  field  headquarters.  But  the  general 
inclination  is  to  stay  in  Berlin,  where  the 
Great  General  Staff  works  more  quietly  and 
comfortably  than  it  could  in  any  offices 
near  the  front. 


100        The  Vandal  of  Europe 

The  long  distance  telephone  connec- 
tions are  working  wonderfully;  the  general 
staff  has  almost  every  battalion  on  the  wire 
and  possesses  a  remarkable  general  picttire 
of  the  location  and  composition  of  all  the 
fighting  units,  even  of  the  smallest.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  of  all  our  opponents  it  will 
be  France  who  pays  the  reckoning.  With 
England  the  situation  is  very  curious.  The 
German  fleet  has  looked  in  vain  for  the 
English  fleet,  which  is  nowhere  to  be  fotind 
as  far  north  as  Scotland.  The  battle  fleet 
has  returned  to  port,  since  it  could  not  main- 
tain a  base  of  operations  very  far  away 
from  home. 

The  submarine  flotilla  has  gone  all  the 
way  around  Scotland  and  has  lost  only  a 
single  U-boat  (U-15).  The  supposition  is 
that  England  wishes  to  avoid  a  battle,  in  or- 
der not  to  weaken  her  sea  power;  perhaps 
also  because  with  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  public,  the  war  is  not  popular.  England 
will  see  to  it  that  France  alone  bleeds. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         loi 

Sir  Edward  Grey  has  expressed  most 
cordially  his  regrets  to  Ambassador  Lich- 
nowsky,  who  in  a  rather  stupid  manner 
allowed  himself  to  be  drawn  into  an  in- 
terview after  the  rupture  of  diplomatic 
relations.  In  Sir  Edward  Grey's  words  Eng- 
land's hope  of  avoiding  a  conflict  in  arms 
with  Germany  is  indicated.  At  all  events 
it  is  a  beautiful  dream  on  France's  part 
that  England  will  at  any  near  date  land 
forces  on  the  Continent  which  will  amount 
to  anything. 

Almost  equally  strange  is  the  attitude  of 
Russia.  She  seems  also  to  have  left  the 
French  to  their  fate.  Nowhere  is  there  any 
hint  of  an  offensive.  The  Russian  forces 
have  been  withdrawn  everywhere  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  kilometers  from  the 
border,  except  a  little  cavalry.  The  whole 
territory  between  has  been  devastated  by 
the  Russian  soldiers,  and  the  harvests  have 
been  destroyed.  If  the  Russians  imagined 
that  we  would  follow  them  into  the  interior 


102         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

of  the  country,  they  deceived  themselves; 
it  would  not  be  necessary  for  us  to  do  that. 
We  have  the  means  of  destroying,  Russia 
without  fighting  her — merely  by  instigating 
insurrection  in  the  border  provinces  and 
facilitating  their  secession  from  Russia. 
Finland,  the  Baltic  provinces  and  cities 
are  to  be  independent;  Russian  Poland  is 
to  become  once  more  a  kingdom;  Bessara- 
bia is  to  go  to  the  Rimianians;  the  Cauca- 
sus provinces,  Armenia  and  Persia  are  to 
go  to  the  Turks. 

An  tmderstanding  on  the  part  of  Rumania, 
Bulgaria,  and  Turkey  is  already  making 
progress.  In  a  few  days  formal  adhesion 
of  these  three  countries  to  the  Triple  Alli- 
ance will  be  accomplished.  The  Goeben 
and  Breslau  will  even  before  that  appear  in 
the  Black  Sea,  will  destroy  the  Russian  fleet, 
and  will  bombard  ports  and  cities,  so  demon- 
strating to  the  three  powers  concerned  that 
they  have  nothing  to  fear  from  Russia. 

Things    look    bad    only  at    Kiau-chau. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         103 

There  are  signs  that  the  Japanese  intend  to 
take  it.  Then  it  will  naturally  be  lost  to 
us  for  a  long  time — until  Germany  can 
eventually  settle  with  the  Japanese. 

As  far  as  Belgium  is  concerned  every- 
thing is  going  according  to  program. 
We  shall  never  surrender  Liege;  we  are 
establishing  ourselves  there  as  if  it  were 
domestic  territory.  Namur  does  not  inter- 
fere at  all  with  our  operations,  as  planned. 
In  a  few  days  an  advance  will  come  on  the 
entire  line  and  then  everything  will  happen 
just  as  it  was  meant  to  happen.  England 
is  apparently  trying  to  induce  Rome  to 
start  an  intervention.  We  hope  that  Italy 
will  not  be  so  simple  as  to  accept  this  crown 
of  thorns,  but  will  remain  unflinching  in 
her  neutrality.  More  than  that  cannot  be 
asked  of  her. 

A  very  rosy  prospect. 

August  1 8th. 

The  mobilization  of  the  troops  is  supposed 
to  be  complete.     In  our  newspaper  world 


104         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

there  is  scarcely  a  breath  while  the  first  test 
is  awaited.  There  will  be  continuous  fight- 
ing for  many  days  before,  under  present 
circumstances,  the  announcement  can  be 
made  that  entire  armies  have  actually  been 
defeated.  Foreign  newspapers  bring  news 
of  German  reverses  in  Belgium.  Since 
these  reports  come  from  Dutch  sources,  it 
is  to  some  extent  clear  from  them  that  the 
German  troops  have  not  been  able  to  push 
forward  so  easily  and  have  suffered  consider- 
able losses,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Belgians 
have  ably  defended  themselves.  Appar- 
ently the  German  advance  to  Brussels  is 
definitely  frustrated.  I  had  supposed  that 
the  Germans  had  no  intention  of  going  there. 
From  the  neighborhood  of  Strasburg  our 
authorities  report  a  little  incident  which 
has  a  comical  flavor.  A  Strasburg  foot 
artillery  regiment  has  allowed  itself  to  be 
deprived  of  all  its  artillery  in  the  Schirmeck 
district,  and  as  the  report  says,  has  returned 
to   Strasburg   without   casualties.     "They 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         105 

lost  their  cannon,  but  not  their  courage." 
This  incident  should  be  taken  as  a  warning 
not  to  be  too  daring  or  incautious.  I  per- 
mit myself  to  draw  the  conclusion  that 
there  are  still  some  Frenchmen  on  German 
soil,  since  Schirmeck  is  not  very  far  away 
from  Strasburg. 

To-day's  official  bulletin  informs  us  that 
the  forts  of  Liege  were  really  taken  one 
after  another.  But  it  gives  no  specific 
dates  and  suggests  that  all  this  happened 
some  time  ago.  At  the  same  time  the  press 
publishes  a  communique  of  the  Belgian 
Government,  dated  August  loth,  which  says 
that  the  enemy  has  taken  Liege,  but  that 
the  forts  are  still  intact,  the  Germans  hav- 
ing broken  through  between  them.  To  this 
absolutely  true  statement  the  newspapers 
append  insulting  comments  on  the  lying 
habits  of  the  Belgian  Government.  One 
would  gladly  turn  away  from  these  self- 
righteous  and  abusive  barbarians,  who  are 
themselves  only  dupes,  because  they  cannot 


io6         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

read  critically  the  official  statements  of 
their  own  Government. 

I  shall,  however,  in  order  to  remove  every 
doubt  in  regard  to  the  forts,  introduce  a 
private  letter  of  the  former  War  Minister, 
von  Einem,  dated  August  14th,  which  I  saw 
yesterday.  He  writes  that  he  is  in  front 
of  Liege  and  has  under  his  command  the  42- 
centimeter  guns  which  arrived  at  Liege  on 
the  evening  of  August  12th,  and  have  since 
done  wonderful  work.  Five  forts  have  now 
fallen.  He  has  very  tranquilly  delayed 
attacks  on  the  forts  until  these  heavy  guns 
should  arrive.  Previously  only  a  single 
fort,  whose  commandant  failed  in  his  duty, 
was  surrendered.  The  creation  of  this  gap 
enabled  us  to  get  into  Liege  and  to  establish 
ourselves  there. 

It  is  clear  from  this  that  the  Belgian 
account  of  the  loth  of  August  is  accurate 
and  that  the  German  communiques  were 
misleading.  If  now  Berlin  announces  that 
all  the  forts  are  in  our  hands,  but  gives  no 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         107 

dates,  one  can  be  sure  that  only  to-day  did 
the  last  fort  fall,  and  then  only  on  account 
of  the  fire  of  our  heaviest  artillery. 

Also  the  French  did  not  lie  when  they 
spoke  of  their  entry  into  Alsace  and  of  the 
jubilation  of  the  Alsatians.  It  was  we  who 
were  the  liars.  The  truth  came  out  this 
way.  While  the  authorities  up  to  now  had 
been  suspiciously  cordial  in  praising  the 
Alsatians  and  Lorrainers  for  their  good 
German  sentiment,  their  correct  attitude 
and  their  genuine  enthusiasm  for  the  war, 
now  we  read  quite  different  announcements 
from  the  military  and  civil  officials  in  Alsace 
and  Lorraine.  It  seems  that  this  canny 
population  has  exhibited  great  hostility 
toward  the  German  soldiery  and  has  made 
common  cause  with  the  French  troops. 
Threats  are  made  that  every  village  out  of 
which  shots  have  been  fired  by  non-com- 
batants at  a  German  soldier  will  be  leveled 
to  the  earth  and  that  the  burgomaster  will 
be  executed.     It  is  further  announced  that 


io8         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

French  soldiers  are  even  now  kept  in  con- 
cealment in  Mülhausen.  There  is  a  death 
penalty  for  this  crime,  and  the  owner  of 
the  house,  even  though  not  its  tenant,  will 
be  shot,  etc. 

This  is  satisfactory  evidence  that  the 
French  have  really  foimd  a  sympathetic 
reception  in  Alsace  and  did  not  reach  Mül- 
hausen only  with  their  aeroplanes.  A  let- 
ter of  a  Catholic  army  chaplain,  written 
from  Mülhausen,  gives  us  even  clearer 
information.  The  press  was  allowed  to 
publish  this  letter  because  the  authorities 
in  the  Reichsland  are  now  willing  to  let 
the  mask  fall. 

The  chaplain  says  that  the  entry  of  the 
French  into  Mülhausen  was  a  triumphal 
procession.  Already  in  the  outlying  vil- 
lages the  people  had  loaded  them  with 
flowers,  and,  weeping  with  joy,  had  greeted 
them  as  deliverers.  At  Mülhausen  a  great 
number  of  soldiers  marched  in  with  bouquets 
on    their    bayonets    and    were    effusively 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         109 

received  with  all  sorts  of  attentions  and 
with  glowing  addresses.  The  populace  de- 
stroyed and  burned  the  barracks  at  Mül- 
hausen.  Then  German  troops  reoccupied 
the  city.  The  population  treated  them  with 
silent  but  intense  hostility. 

Conclusion:  The  Germans  circulate  truth 
or  falsehood  as  it  suits  the  purposes  of 
the  moment. 

August  19th. 
Minister  of  State  Delbrück  gives  or- 
ders that  all  witnesses  of  outrages  against 
Germans  in  Belgium  shall  submit  their 
testimony,  in  order  that  a  true  and  com- 
prehensive picture  of  those  atrocities  may 
be  obtained. 


Bernard  Shaw  writes  in  a  newspaper 
that  it  is  necessary  to  exorcise  the  spirit 
of  Potsdam  in  order  to  be  able  to  love  once 
more  the  Germany  of  Goethe  and  Bee- 
thoven.    Nobody  can  love  the  Germany  of 


no         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

Bismarck,  with  her  mailed  fist  and  distorted 
ambition.  For  the  sake  of  justice,  England, 
heavy  of  heart,  must  to-day  prevent  Ger- 
many from  destroying  other  countries. 
When  this  object  is  attained  and  Germany 
is  brought  back  again  to  reason  and  civili- 
zation, England  will  intervene  in  her  behalf 
in  case  she  is  threatened  from  Russia. 

This  is  the  way,  in  my  opinion,  in  which 
all  fair-minded  and  intelligent  foreigners 
are  thinking.  It  is  a  lie  to  maintain  that 
they  long  for  the  enfeeblement  and  dis- 
memberment of  Germany  in  order  to  be 
able  to  despise  her,  as  they  used  to  do. 


Indications  are  multiplying  that  Japan  is 
preparing  to  take  Kiau-chau.  The  Japanese 
are  apt  students  of  European  diplomacy, 
and  will  now  and  on  every  .future  occasion 
of  discord  in  Europe  unscrupulously  pro- 
mote their  own  interests  in  so  far  as  the 
opportunity  is  offered  them. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         in 

In  this  connection  I  recall  a  discreditable 
scene  in  Berlin  at  the  very  outbreak  of  the 
war.  Some  blockhead  had  spread  the  rumor 
that  Japan  would  take  advantage  of  Rus- 
sia's preoccupations  to  strengthen  herself 
in  Manchuria.  Although  Japan  might 
have  taken  such  a  step  in  her  own  selfish 
interest,  without  any  regard  for  the  inter- 
ests of  Germany,  an  immense  mob  of 
shouting  Berliners  flocked  to  the  Japanese 
Embassy  and  for  hours  kept  yelling  them- 
selves hoarse,  until  an  official  of  the  Em- 
bassy appeared  on  the  balcony  to  say  that 
he  could  neither  confirm  nor  deny  the 
rumors  concerning  Japan's  attitude  toward 
Russia,  as  he  had  received  no  instructions. 
The  crowd  then  had  to  look  for  other 
excuses  for  jubilation.  At  any  rate  they 
demonstrated  their  political  childishness 
and  utter  lack  of  dignity  before  Japan's 
diplomatic  representatives. 

*  *  * 

The  letters  from  participants  in  the  cam- 


112         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

paign,  which  our  newspapers  publish  with- 
out any  critical  examination,  are  becoming 
a  veritable  nuisance.  The  press  constantly 
asks  for  more  such  letters  from  the  field,  as 
though  it  were  not  aware  of  the  nonsense 
they  contain.  Boasting,  excited,  ignorant 
soldiers  naturally  write  the  crudest  exagger- 
ations, whether  about  victories  or  atrocities. 

They  carelessly  mingle  their  personal 
experiences  with  current  nmiors  and  with 
what  they  themselves  read  in  the  news- 
papers. This  would  not  be  so  bad,  if  only 
their  relatives  at  home  were  to  be  edified 
by  such  missives.  It  gets  worse  when  cor- 
respondence of  this  sort  is  lavishly  and 
systematically  reproduced  in  display  type, 
as  though  it  came  from  responsible  and 
trustworthy  news  gatherers. 

From  these  sources  we  read  repeatedly 
that  concurrently  with  the  taking  of  Liege 
all  the  Liege  forts  were  captured  in  a  heroic 
storming  operation.  The  editors  add  abu- 
sive remarks  about  our  lying  enemy,  who 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  113 

has  denied  the  loss  of  the  forts.  Nothing 
is  done  officially  to  establish  the  truth  and 
to  save  the  credit  of  the  enemy.  On  that 
account  I  cannot  refrain  from  introducing, 
perhaps  superfluously,  one  more  piece  of 
evidence — the  report  of  an  officer  who  was 
with  the  42 -centimeter  battery: 

Liege,  August  i6th.  In  the  four  days  in 
which  it  participated  in  the  fight  against  the 
Liege  forts  the  battery  has  shot  to  pieces  its 
targets.  The  fort  of  Pontille  was  compelled 
after  forty-three  shots  to  display  the  white 
flag.  Yesterday  the  fort  of  Loucin  was  re- 
duced to  a  ruin  in  nineteen  shots.  To- 
morrow we  go  on  to  Namur,  since  to-day  the 
last  Liege  fort  fell. 

Of  the  same  value  in  the  way  of  evidence 
as  the  soldiers'  letters  are  the  statements  of 
hysterical  German  fugitives:  for  example, 
that  they  saw  French  troops  on  August  ist, 
at  Erquelinnes,  in  Belgium.  Probably  these 
poor  people  could  not  distinguish  between 
Belgian    and    French    soldiers.     But    their 


1 14         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

assertions  are  spread  before  the  German 
public  as  evidence  that  France  was  the  first 
to  violate  Belgiiim's  neutrality. 

Especially  suspicious  is  the  always  anony- 
mous form:  "A  gentleman,  who  crossed 
the  Franco-Belgian  border  in  the  night 
between  July  31st  and  August  ist,  etc." 

As  panic  in  an  ignorant  herd  is  more 
frequent  and  more  frightful  the  bigger  the 
herd  is,  so  our  great  German  Empire  seems 
to  allow  itself  to  be  distracted  to  an  imusual 
degree  by  baseless  rumors.  Some  days  ago 
I  mentioned  as  incredible  our  first  an- 
nouncement with  regard  to  the  beginning 
of  hostilities  by  France — ^namely,  the  bomb- 
ing of  Nuremberg  by  French  aeroplanes. 
I  did  not  believe  it,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
the  Imperial  Chancellor  alluded  to  it  in 
the  Reichstag. 

Now  I  read  that  the  French  Minister 
President,  at  the  sitting  of  the  House  of 
Deputies  on  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  for- 
mally declared  this  charge  to  be  false.     One 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         115 

should  think  that  in  such  a  case  it  would 
be  an  easy  thing  to  establish  the  facts. 
But  apparently  the  Nurembergers  them- 
selves believe  in  the  bombs,  although 
they  never  saw  any  traces  of  them.  An 
annoimcement  by  the  authorities  carries 
more  weight  with  Germans  than  any  per- 
sonal investigation  on  their  own  part  does. 
And  if  one  has  once  renounced  his  own 
judgment  in  favor  of  the  authority  of  the 
state,  then  the  resulting  non-critical  men- 
tal tendency  must  show,  even  when  the 
state's  authority  is  not  in  question. 

Only  one  example  of  this,  among  many. 
Recently  there  came  from  Wilhelmshaven 
a  couple  of  serious-minded  men,  clever  in 
their  profession,  graduates  of  a  university. 
They  had  been  sent  there  on  a  mission  and 
they  returned  with  the  statement  that  they 
had  seen  a  wrecked  English  airship  lying  in 
the  streets  of  that  city.  The  news  was  so 
interesting  that  we  sought  more  definite  in- 
formation by  telephone  from  the  Wilhelms- 


1 16         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

haven   authorities.     There  was  absolutely 
no  foundation  for  the  story. 

August  2oth. 
Pope  Pius  X.  died  to-day.  His  death  is 
a  symbol  of  the  collapse  in  this  war  of 
his  church,  its  teachings,  and  its  morals. 
Europe  has  extinguished  the  light — amid 
the  clash  of  swords,  curses,  and  groans. 
Who  will  bring  a  new  light? 

August  2 1  St. 
A  Japanese  ultimatum  yesterday  de- 
manded the  unconditional  surrender  of 
Kiau-chau.  The  Germans  have  marched 
into  Brussels.  With  these  weighty  tidings 
comes  the  news  of  a  very  great  and,  for  the 
Germans,  successful  battle  in  Lorraine — 
on  a  battlefield  larger  than  that  operated 
over  by  all  the  armies  of  1870.  The  French 
are  everywhere  in  retreat  and  are  being 
pursued.  Many  thousands  of  prisoners 
and    much    artillery    material    have    been 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         117 

captured.     The  results  of  the  battle  cannot 
yet  be  estimated. 

The  poor  French!  With  us  there  is 
every  confidence  that  they  will  pay  the 
reckoning  and  that  no  one  will  really  help 
them.  Our  Government  had  predicted  that 
openly  many  times  in  Paris.  President 
Wilson  has  already  offered  his  services  as  a 
mediator — somewhat  prematurely.  France 
has  accepted  the  offer  with  thanks,  ac- 
companied by  reproaches  directed  against 
Germany. 


To-day  an  exchange  of  dispatches  between 
William  II.  and  the  King  of  England  is 
published.  The  idea  that  France  should 
remain  neutral  was,  according  to  these 
dispatches,  taken  up  by  Sir  Edward  Grey 
on  August  ist.  The  German  Government 
on  the  same  day  agreed  not  to  attack  France 
if  England  should  guarantee  France's  neu- 
trality. 


ii8         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

One  can  scarcely  assume  that  France 
had  decided  to  remain  neutral,  especially 
since,  as  a  result  of  Germany's  military 
measures,  it  was  too  late  for  further  nego- 
tiations. The  dispatches  leave  the  im- 
pression that  a  twenty-four  or  forty-eight 
hours'  postponement  of  Germany's  mobili- 
zation might  possibly  have  given  another 
turn  to  the  situation. 


So  far  as  the  Japanese  are  concerned,  I 
do  not  assume  that  England  incited  them. 
I  believe  that  she  could  not  hold  them 
back.  Will  the  Chinese  fight  against  the 
Japanese  because  they  (the  Chinese)  want 
Kiau-chau  for  themselves.'*  Will  the  United 
States  of  North  America  see  to  it  that 
Japan  restores  the  German  dependency  to 
China?  Eventually  the  Japanese  will  con- 
quer China.  All  European  possessions  in 
Asia  will  then  be  threatened.  England  and 
France  will  be  hit  hardest  of  all. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         1 19 

August  226.. 

Whatever  significance  yesterday's  battle 
may  have  had,  I  can  see  in  it  only  the  first 
scene  of  the  first  act  of  a  protracted  tragedy. 
Very  probably  in  course  of  time  these 
victories  over  Fi*ance  will  become  insigni- 
ficant in  perspective  and  practically  fruit- 
less, because  new  combinations  will  demand 
new  efforts  and  sacrifices,  so  that  finally 
both  victors  and  vanquished  will  sink  back 
into  the  same  condition  of  misery  and 
barbarism,  unless  a  strong  hand  and  a  strong 
head  interfere  opportunely  to  call  a  halt. 

To-day  we  read  that  the  military  au- 
thorities have  taken  possession  of  the  great 
Belgian  steel  works  of  John  Cockerill,  in 
Seraing,  near  Liege.  This  private  firm 
also  made  war  material  and  its  plant  must 
now  be  turned  over  to  the  Germans  on  the 
plea  of  military  necessity.  The  manager 
of  the  works  is  displaced  and  interned.  A 
Prussian  colonel  becomes  the  head  of  the 
establishment. 


I20         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

I  should  like  to  hear  the  German  outcry, 
if  the  French,  in  case  they  invaded  Ger- 
many, should  take  such  liberties  with  private 
property.  When  we  find  ourselves  the 
weaker  party  in  any  affair,  we  demand  of 
the  other  party  treatment  which  we  never 
vouchsafe  when  we  are  the  stronger. 


Scruples  are  certainly  not  a  weakness  in 
the  leading  circles  of  the  New  Germany. 
These  people  are  considerate  only  when 
they  doubt  their  own  power.  The  populace 
must,  however,  preserve  its  morals,  so  as  to 
be  the  apter  instrument  of  a  brutal  policy. 
To-day  some  artifice  must  be  resorted  to 
in  order  that  the  sheep  herded  within  the 
German  fold  shall  contentedly  be  converted 
into  an  army  of  elephants,  whose  feet  are 
to  trample  down  every  living  thing  beyond 
our  borders. 

This  training  is  administered  in  many 
ways.     They    tell    the    people    that    state 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         121 

morality  and  private  morality  operate,  and 
must  operate,  in  two  entirely  different 
spheres.  At  the  same  time  an  example  of 
the  greatest  piety  is  set.  From  all  palace 
balconies,  from  all  ministry  chambers, 
from  all  military  camps  we  have  been  con- 
tinually admonished  in  the  past  few  weeks 
to  stream  into  the  churches;  to  fall  on  our 
knees;  to  invoke  a  just  God,  who  guides 
our  cause  and  protects  us  when  we  are  per- 
secuted and  assailed;  to  praise  Germany's 
God,  who  will  lead  us  victoriously  over  the 
entire  world,  because  he  can  find  no  better 
use  for  the  garden  of  his  creation  than 
that  we  should  fill  it  with  our  camp  fires. 

I  hope  there  are  many  who  do  not  kneel 
and  who  do  not  pray — at  least  not  to  this 
God  and  not  for  such  divine  favor.  Better 
sit  still  and  meditate  and  then  evince  in 
self-liberation  the  power  and  the  faith 
which  we  now  show  in  slavery.  Disgusting 
hypocrisy  and  cunning,  contempt  for  the 
people,  and  criminal  anxiety  manifest  them- 


122         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

selves  in  this  official  piety.  It  aims  at 
nothing  but  the  sanctification  of  falsehood, 
the  adoration  of  brutality,  the  deification  of 
William  IL 


Recently  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Russian  army,  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas, 
promised  the  Poles  liberation  and  uni- 
fication with  their  brothers  in  Prussia  and 
Galicia.  He  probably  means,  add  the 
papers,  under  Russian  suzerainty.  In  my 
opinion,  present-day  Prussia  and  present- 
day  Russia  are  adversaries  worthy  of  each 
other.  The  poor  Poles  would  do  well  to 
be  wary  and  to  distrust  both ;  they  owe  no 
gratitude  for  Grecian  gifts,  which  they  can 
turn  to  use  only  by  exercising  the  greatest 
circumspection . 

*  4c  * 

J.  recently  read  that  a  small  Westphalian 
newspaper  had  been  confiscated  and  sup- 
pressed, and  the  editor  thrown  into  prison 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         123 

because  of  an  article  saying  that  Germany 
must  lose  the  present  war.  This  measure 
of  discipline  is  generally  approved.  But 
in  view  of  that  approval  such  a  to-do  ought 
not  to  be  made  about  the  unanimity,  har- 
mony, and  enthusiasm  of  public  opinion, 
as  is  now  being  made  in  the  press  of  all 
parties. 

The  most  rigid  censorship  prevails  among 
us.  Only  articles  approved  by  the  military 
authorities  may  be  published.  The  pro- 
vincial newspapers  are  required  to  take 
their  news  matter  from  the  strictly  con- 
trolled Berlin  press.  Two  editors  of  such  a 
Chauvinist  newspaper,  as  the  Rheinisch- 
Westfälische  Zeitung  have  been  arrested 
for  making  a  few  vague  statements  about 
military  movements  without  permission. 

If  such  Draconian  severity  is  exercised 
in  dealing  with  trivial  offences,  one  can 
imagine  what  a  fate  awaits  a  man  who 
dares  to  utter  a  truly  free  word. 

The  military  governor   of   Cologne   has 


124         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

just  prohibited  the  making  of  controver- 
sial comments  in  connection  with  the  death 
of  Pope  Pius  X.  The  present  glorious 
concord  must  not  be  disturbed.  Those  who 
show  a  refractory  spirit  will  be  prosecuted 
without  mercy.  Religiously  also  we  are 
being  suddenly  unified  by  force — the  uni- 
fication to  last  until  it  is  desirable  to  set 
us  to  quarrelling  again.  By  such  means  a 
wonderful  degree  of  tranquillity  can  be 
obtained  in  Germany  for  a  considerable 
period  of  time. 

I  called  the  attention  of  a  high  official 
to  the  contradiction  involved  in  the  sup- 
pression of  all  opinion  except  that  of  the 
"Hurrah  for  the  Government"  kind  and 
the  simultaneous  exploitation  of  the  com- 
plete unity  of  popular  sentiment.  He  re- 
plied: "It  would  not  do  in  Germany  at 
such  a  time  to  permit  the  free  expression  of 
opinion  or  to  tolerate  critical  comment. 
The  fact  that  all  circles  obey  and  do  not 
kick  against  the  pricks  makes  a  fine  and 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  125 

powerful  impression.  The  means  that  are 
employed  must  not  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion." 

To  put  it  in  other  words:  He  is  much 
impressed  because  nobody  dares  to  risk 
liberty  and  life  in  a  hopeless  struggle  against 
the  authorities.  It  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  day  before  mobilization  all  Ger- 
many was  declared  in  a  state  of  war  and 
siege;  in  many  districts  martial  law  was 
proclaimed.  Under  such  circumstances  it  is 
no  wonder  that  everybody  submits — all  the 
more  so,  since  the  war  has  separated  friends 
and  relatives  and  the  convictions  of  many 
have  been  shaken  by  the  hope  of  victory. 

But  let  distress  and  defeats  come,  and 
the  Potemkin  village  of  national  unity  will 
be  blown  away,  despite  the  props  of  mili- 
tary law.  If  any  one  in  Germany  to-day, 
enthused  by  our  victorious  progress,  should 
say  gloatingly  that  it  is  only  a  matter  of 
a  week  or  two  before  a  revolution  breaks 
out  in  Paris,  he  might  be  right,  provided 


126         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

that  the  French  army  had  been  already 
destroyed.  But  it  would  not  be  any  differ- 
ent in  Germany,  if  Germany  should  lose 
the  war.  In  fact,  it  would  not  be  different 
in  any  of  the  belligerent  states,  England^ 
perhaps,  excepted. 

What  follows  is  also  characteristic  of 
German  leaders  of  public  opinion.  They 
record  with  satisfaction  every  English  ut- 
terance against  the  war,  against  the  London 
Government,  against  the  alliance  with  Rus- 
sia or  Japan ;  every  English  criticism  of  war 
finance  or  of  war  legislation  affecting  com- 
merce— in  short,  every  manifestation  of 
opposition.  But  they  do  not  seem  to  con- 
sider for  an  instant  that  even  to-day  every- 
one in  England  may  speak  freely  and  will 
not  concede  an  infringement  of  that  right, 
and  that  this  is  a  sign  of  England's  greatness 
and  security.  Still  less  do  they  think  of 
allowing  their  own  people  to  speak  freely 
and  to  satisfy  themselves  of  the  justice  of 
German  policy. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         127 

August  23d. 
Since  yesterday  there  is  talk  of  strong 
Russian  forces  in  East  Prussia.  To-day  it 
is  announced  that  the  army  of  the  Crown 
Prince  of  Prussia  is  advancing  victoriously 
on  both  sides  of  Longwy,  and  that  the 
Crown  Prince  of  Bavaria  stands  between 
Luneville  and  Blamont.  From  a  private 
source  I  know  that  the  day  before  yesterday 
one  of  the  new  forts  of  Namur  fell,  that 
four  Austrian  30.5  howitzers  have  arrived 
there  and  that  the  defence  of  Namur  is  far 
better  organized  than  that  of  Liege. 


The  German  Government  has  broken  off 
relations  with  Japan  without  replying  to 
the  Japanese  ultimatum.  The  former  am- 
bassador in  Tokio  bitterly  complained  to 
a  friend  about  the  maladroit  policy  we 
have  been  pursuing  for  years  in  Japan. 
We  have  offended  the  Japanese  again  and 
again    on    quite    unessential    points.     We 


128         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

have  repeatedly  repelled  them  when  they 
wanted  to  cooperate  with  us. 

Of  course,  since  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
there  has  been  a  general  feeling  that  German 
diplomacy  has  failed  everywhere.  Some 
say  that  is  because  it  lived  from  hand  to 
mouth  and  not  according  to  comprehensive 
plans.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  in  view  of 
the  character  of  the  Kaiser,  his  power,  his 
inconsistency,  and  his  continual  interference, 
it  could  have  done  no  better.  Only  the 
man  who  danced  to  his  tune  could  stay 
in  office,  and  everyone  wanted  to  stay  in 
office.  For  there  are  very  few  people  in 
Germany  who  have  convictions  and  for 
their  sake  renounce  offices  and  dignities. 
They  ask:  "How  can  I  hold  on?  How 
can  I  advance?"  But  not:  "What  do 
they  ask  of  me?  Does  it  agree  with  my 
real  views?" 

To  me  the  Foreign  Office  has  always 
seemed  a  confused,  narrow-minded,  ex- 
clusive body  of  bureaucrats  which  received 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  129 

its  directions  from  outside  and  did  very 
little  on  its  own  initiative.  Accordingly  I 
contend  that  this  office  is  responsible  for  the 
war,  at  most  only  by  reason  of  its  incompe- 
tency, and  not  because  it  willed  the  war. 
■  The  present  Imperial  Chancellor  (von 
Bethmann-Hollweg)  exercises  no  real  ini- 
tiative in  his  foreign  policies.  The  Secre- 
tary of  State  for  the  Foreign  Office  (von 
Jagow)  is  a  smart  skeptic,  who  thinks  him- 
self that  he  is  in  the  wrong  place.  During 
the  decisive  period  before  the  war  he  was 
on  his  wedding  trip.  His  Under  Secretary 
of  State,  who  till  then  had  had  little  to  say, 
utilized  the  opportunity  to  urge  an  aggres- 
sive stand.  He  acted  under  the  direction 
of  the  higher  authorities.  He  was  not 
himself  a  controlling  factor.  That  after 
the  crime  of  Serajevo  the  Foreign  Office  did 
not  get  into  touch  with  Foreign  Offices  of 
other  Governments  and  did  not  keep  in 
touch  with  them,  is  a  proof  of  its  incapacity. 
If  the  Kaiser  and  those  who  surround  him 


I30         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

had  suggested  such  a  feeling  out  process, 
the  Foreign  Office  woiild  have  worked 
feverishly.  Especially  striking  is  the  fact 
that  the  German  Government  failed  to  get 
into  touch  with  Italy  in  time.  The  Secre- 
tary of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs  was,  until 
very  recently,  for  some  reason  or  another, 
of  the  opinion  that  relations  with  Italy  had 
so  materially  improved  that  she  would  not 
hesitate  long  before  marching  with  Ger- 
many. If  I  remember  rightly,  he  said  that 
he  had  found  a  new  basis  for  a  Mediter- 
ranean policy  and  had  come  to  an  under- 
standing with  Italy  upon  that  basis. 

I  could  never  believe  that.  I  always 
held  the  alliance  with  Italy  to  be  a  blunder, 
because  it  would  never  stand  a  real  test. 
General  public  opinion  in  Italy  is  hostile 
to  Austria  and  friendlier  to  France  than  it 
is  to  us.  In  opposition  to  this  public  opin- 
ion no  Government  in  Italy  can  guarantee 
aid  of  a  military  sort,  even  if  it  wants  to, 
which  is  not  the  case  now. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         131 

The  press  of  all  shades  of  opinion  is  at 
present  against  us  and  demands  either  neu- 
trality, or  adhesion  to  the  Entente,  or  that 
advantage  be  taken  of  the  difficult  position 
of  Austria.  So  German  diplomacy  exerts 
itself  at  the  last  minute  through  all  sorts 
of  agents  to  win  over  the  Italian  press  and 
to  realign  the  Italian  Government  with 
Germany,  by  means  of  representations 
and  promises.  Naturally  they  try  also  to 
capture  the  members  of  Parliament.  This 
campaign  will  not  succeed.  Even  if  it 
should  succeed,  the  adherence  of  Italy 
would  be  spiritless,  ineffective,  and  dearly 
bought.  In  the  meantime,  according  to 
trustworthy  announcements,  both  Italy  and 
France  have  withdrawn  their  troops  from 
the  Franco-Italian  border. 

Recently  great  hopes  have  been  based 
on  Turkey.  But  to-day  they  say  at  the 
Foreign  Office  that  the  situation  is  very 
uncertain.  It  is  only  a  matter  of  hours 
before  Turkey  decides  for  Germany  or  for 


132         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

the  Entente.  The  German  warships  at 
Constantinople  await  the  word  to  break 
into  the  Black  Sea.  The  necessary  muni- 
tions, mines,  etc.,  and  five  hundred  sea- 
men are  already  on  the  way  in  several  trains 
to  Constantinople.  Originally  the  muni- 
tions for  the  Goeben  had  been  dispatched  to 
Pola.  If  nothing  intervenes,  a  consider- 
able quantity  of  artillery  and  munitions, 
for  the  Turks  themselves,  will  be  forwarded 
in  a  day  or  two. 

Great  stress  is  laid  on  the  prospective 
adhesion  of  Rumania,  which  could  strike 
at  the  heart  of  Russia  through  Kiev.  But 
Rumanian  relations  with  Austria-Hungary 
have  grown  worse  and  worse  in  recent  years. 
The  alliance  was  always  a  somewhat  secret 
arrangement  between  the  two  monarchs, 
and  the  present  Rumanian  Government 
fights  shy  of  it.  About  a  year  or  more  ago 
definite  plans  were  worked  out  for  coopera- 
tion between  the  two  countries  in  case  of  war 
with  Russia.     But  since  the  protest  of  Aus- 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         133 

tria-Hungary  against  the  Treaty  of  Bucha- 
rest, the  last  vestige  of  good-will  on  Ruma- 
nia's part  has  vanished.  She  began  at  once 
to  cultivate  friendly  relations  with  France, 
Italy,  Greece,  and  even  Russia. 

In  spite  of  his  personal  influence,  the 
King,  who  remained  always  pro-German, 
was  powerless  to  fight  against  the  sentiment 
which  inspired  all  classes  and  all  political 
parties,  as  he  had  begun  recently  to  swim 
with  the  current.  I  am  convinced — and  I 
know  Rumania  pretty  well — that  Germany 
would  have  found  Rumania  on  the  side  of 
her  enemies,  if  the  European  War  had 
broken  out  a  year  later.  It  was  the  pre- 
vailing opinion  already  that  Rumania  ought 
to  cut  loose  from  Hungary  and  that  the 
Russian  peril  should  no  longer  be  taken 
seriously. 

Even  if  the  condition  of  the  Rumanians 
in  Siebenbürgen  had  been  alleviated,  it 
would  have  made  no  difference.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,   Germany  could  not  have 


134         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

brought  that  about,  although,  according 
to  the  Rumanian  idea,  it  might  have  been 
accomplished  by  an  earnest  effort  on  Ger- 
many's part. 

The  Rumanians  believe  that  the  real 
failure  was  in  Berlin.  They  had  no  hope 
so  far  as  Austria-Hungary  was  concerned, 
and  the  alliance  was  abandoned  because 
of  Berlin's  shortcomings,  not  Vienna's. 
The  Rumanians  speak  of  Germany's  favor- 
able intervention  on  behalf  of  the  Bucharest 
Treaty  as  an  isolated,  gracious  gesture,  not 
in  itself  the  result  of  a  consistently  de- 
veloped policy.  The  Rumanians  have  often 
complained  in  Berlin  of  their  trying  rela- 
tions with  Austria-Hungary  and  emphasized 
the  fact  that  they  wished  a  more  direct  asso- 
ciation with  the  German  Empire,  from  which 
no  conflicts  of  interest  estranged  them. 

But  Berlin  always  referred  them  back  to 
Vienna,  which  amounted  to  a  slighting  of 
their  most  urgent  requests.  Latterly  the 
Rumanians  wanted  an  assurance  from  Ber- 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  135 

lin  that  they  should  inherit  the  Siebenbür- 
gen, when  the  time  was  ripe  for  it.  In  that 
case  they  would  gladly  have  deferred  all 
demands  until  the  demise  [of  Austria- 
Hungary]  was  imminent. 

The  dissolution  of  Austria-Hungary — 
sooner  or  later  in  the  course  of  the  twen- 
tieth century  —  is  an  article  of  faith  [and 
a  very  comprehensible  one]  among  the  peo- 
ples of  Eastern  Europe.  And  I  share  their 
belief. 

Now  that  war  has  come,  we  can  regard 
neutrality  on  Rumania's  part  to  be  the 
most  that  is  attainable.  Rumania  might 
be  willing  to  go  against  Russia,  if  Russia 
stood  alone,  although  the  condition  of 
the  Rumanians  in  Bessarabia  is  far  better 
than  the  condition  of  the  Rumanians  in 
Siebenbürgen.  But  she  will  never  go  against 
Russia  so  long  as  that  involves  enmity  to 
France,  whom  she  loves,  or  to  England, 
whom  she  esteems  as  the  pacific  arbiter  of 
the  quarrels  of  Europe.     To  any  one  who 


136         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

is  not  satisfied  with  neutrality  on  Ruma- 
nia's part  I  say — and  say  positively — that 
something  even  worse  is  to  be  expected  in 
case  the  war  doesn't  come  to  an  end  through 
speedy  and  decisive  victory  for  Germany. 

From  these  few  examples  one  sees  that 
the  idea  of  the  German  public  that  the 
Foreign  Office  has  done  poor  work,  is  com- 
prehensible. Everyivhere  where  the  Ger- 
mans hope  for  support  they  must  also  reckon 
on  the  possibility  of  enmity. 

August  24th. 
The  German  victories  in  Lorraine  proved 
to  be  quite  considerable.  It  seems  that  six 
armies  are  operating  in  the  West.  The 
commanders  named  are  von  Kluck,  von 
Bülow,  Duke  Albert  of  Würtemberg,  the 
German  Crown  Prince,  the  Crown  Prince 
of  Bavaria,  and  von  Heeringen.  From  the 
eastern  seat  of  war  the  news  is  less  reassur- 
ing. The  Russians  seem,  after  all,  to  be 
advancing  in  East  Prussia,  in  great  force — 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         137 

according  to  London  reports,  with  twenty 
army  corps. 

One  who  left  yesterday  the  investing 
army  before  Namur  tells  me  that  a  special 
corps,  formed  of  the  siege  artillery  of  all 
the  other  corps,  is  keeping  up  a  violent 
bombardment  of  Namur  and  all  its  forts. 
There  are  also  eight  Austrian  30.5  howitzers. 
Up  to  yesterday  three  forts  had  fallen. 
As  the  German  heavy  artillery  fires  at  very 
great  distances,  it  has  itself  not  been  fired 
upon.  But  the  infantry  have  sustained 
heavy  losses,  because  they  tried  several 
times  to  storm  positions  which  had  not 
been  demolished  by  the  German  artillery. 
Namur  will  very  likely  fall  to-day,  so 
violently  is  it  attacked.  The  fall  of  the 
fortress  was  scheduled  for  not  sooner  than 
the  end  of  the  week.  The  well-known 
Prussian  way  of  looking  at  the  watch! 

It  was  more  important  to  me  to  learn 
that  guerilla  fighting  has  not  yet  ceased. 
The    troops    acted    with    terrible    severity 


138         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

whenever  a  shot  was  fired  from  a  house. 
Recently  they  herded  together  two  hiindred 
male  inhabitants  of  a  village  and  shot  them. 
It  is  a  pity  that  many  mistakes  are  made. 
For  instance,  our  soldiers  fire  in  one  street, 
and  German  soldiers  in  another  street  as- 
simie  that  franc-tireurs  are  firing  from  the 
houses,  and  then  they  level  everything  to 
the  ground. 

I  was  much  impressed  by  the  information 
given  by  an  authority,  an  officer,  that  the 
soldiers  have  taken  to  plundering  and  ma- 
rauding. They  invade  homes  and,  while 
threatening  the  inhabitants  with  their  bayo- 
nets, demand  everything  in  the  house — 
not  only  provisions,  but  money,  valuables, 
and  sometimes  utterly  useless  objects.  The 
cattle,  too,  are  often  driven  away  and  per- 
mitted to  perish.  Automobiles,  munition 
carts,  and  other  vehicles  are  piled  full  of 
stolen  goods.  My  informant  says  that  he 
ordered  his  men  yesterday  to  give  back  what 
they  had  stolen  and  to  pay  for  all  provisions. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         139 

He  hopes  the  supreme  command  will  soon 
take  strong  measures  against  the  existing 
system  of  plunder. 

In  Liege,  where  the  German  soldiers  are 
said  to  have  greatly  oppressed  and  plun- 
dered the  civilian  population,  bloody  battles 
broke  out  in  the  streets,  in  which  we  used 
machine  guns  and  cannon.  The  soldiers 
have  become  brutalized;  they  have  for 
weeks  not  seen  any  quarters,  but  have 
camped  in  open  places  in  the  fields,  because 
during  the  night  treacherous  attacks  on 
our  soldiers  in  bed,  or  even  in  hospitals 
were  to  be  feared.  The  fact  is  that  by 
reason  of  their  frequent  firing  on  the  ci- 
vilian population  and  their  destruction  of 
many  communities  our  soldiers  have  lost 
all  conception  of  what  is  allowable  in  war 
and  what  is  not. 

August  25th. 
As  the  Russians  have  advanced  in  great 
force  the  dams  in  the  lowlands  of  the  Elbing 


140         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

have  been  cut,  causing  thirty  or  forty  square 
kilometers  of  land  to  be  inundated  for  the 
protection  of  the  fortress  of  Danzig.  This 
news  makes  a  deep  impression  everywhere. 
Only  recently  the  population  had  been 
reassured  by  the  announcement  that  it  was 
not  intended  to  abandon  Prussian  territory 
to  the  enemy. 

Only  yesterday  you  could  hear:  "Ta! 
ta !  ta !  The  Russians  will  never  accomplish 
their  mobilization;  it  will  be  a  couple  of 
months  before  they  are  able  to  advance. 
By  that  time  we  shall  have  beaten  France. 
There  is  no  need  worrying  about  the  East- 
ern theater  of  war.  But  should  the  Rus- 
sians advance  at  all — which  is  not  likely 
after  their  retreat  from  Poland — then  we 
shall  remain  successfully  on  the  defensive." 

Now  they  think  differently.  As  all  our 
troops  are  concentrated  in  the  West  they 
dismiss  optimism,  and  talk  of  the  abandon- 
ment of  East  Prussia  up  to  the  Danzig- 
Thorn  line,  which,  besides,  had  been  an  old 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         141 

plan  of  battle.  The  main  Austrian  forces 
ought  to  be  now  on  their  way  into  Russia, 
but  none  of  us  laymen  can  tell  to-day  just 
where  they  are.  Pessimistic  utterances  are 
heard  to  the  effect  that  Austro-Hungarian 
preparation  for  war  is  even  more  tardy  than 
Russian. 

The  retirement  before  the  Russians  within 
Prussian  territory  is  said  to  have  made  a 
strong  impression  upon  the  Balkan  states. 
It  seems  that  Rumania,  whose  king  has 
been  sick  for  the  last  few  days,  is  still  far 
from  any  decision  to  make  common  cause 
with  Bulgaria  and  Turkey — a  decision  much 
hoped  for  by  our  politicians,  but  which  I 
considered  out  of  the  question.  Far  from 
this,  we  read  that  Rumania  insists  to  Turkey 
and  Bulgaria  that  she  will  remain  neutral, 
and  that  she  will  reserve  her  own  freedom 
of  judgment  and  action  in  case  either  of 
these  States  takes  sides.  According  to 
this,  Rimiania  wants  for  the  time  being  to 
prevent  a  spread  of  the  European  conflagra- 


142  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

tion  and  to  obstruct  the  ambitious  plans  of 
Turkey  and  Bulgaria. 

The  news  from  the  Western  Front  con- 
tinues favorable.  The  Wolff  Agency  re- 
ports to-day  that  Namur  and  five  forts 
have  been  captured  by  the  Germans  and  that 
the  capture  of  the  remaining  four  forts  will 
very  soon  follow.  A  telephone  message 
from  headquarters,  received  by  some  ac- 
quaintances of  mine,  throws  this  Wolff 
report  completely  into  the  shade.  It  an- 
nounced in  advance  of  the  telegram,  that 
three  enemy  divisions  had  been  annihilated. 
Although  nobody  knows  any  details,  satis- 
faction is  general.  I  believe  that  the  de- 
struction of  three  French  army  corps  would 
not  give  the  German  public  as  much  satis- 
faction as  a  thorough  defeat  of  the  three 
English  divisions  which  have  been  dis- 
embarked. 

Better  kill  an  Englishman  three  times 
than  half  kill  a  Frenchman  is  to-day's 
slogan.     This  animosity  is  due  not  merely  to 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         143 

England's  attitude  toward  Germany.  There 
is  rancor  because  the  English  have  been  up 
to  now  practically  immune  from  attack 
and  have  been  able  to  play  the  role  of  ar- 
biter on  the  Continent  and  in  the  world 
without  running  any  great  risk  or  facing 
any  serious  sacrifice.  They  have  therefore 
been  able,  without  effort  and  merely  as 
spectators,  to  extract  profit  from  the  quar- 
rels of  the  Continental  Europeans,  which 
they  have  fomented  in  accordance  with 
their  own  selfish  policy.  Germans  say  it  is 
a  delusion  to  regard  England's  Continental 
policy  as  pacific  in  any  broad  sense.  It  is 
charged  that  the  maintenance  of  the  Euro- 
pean Balance  of  Power,  which  the  English 
have  professed  to  be  working  for,  has  made 
Continental  dissension  and  disunity  chronic 
and  has  offered  them  the  opportimity  of 
continual  interference.  Germans  hold  that 
England,  which  has  forged  a  mighty  ring 
about  the  world  and  which  could  and  should 
be  an  invincible   empire,    overtopping   all 


144        The  Vandal  of  Europe 

other  empires  and  also  leading  them  in  the 
arts  of  civilization,  has  always  for  centuries 
pursued  the  narrow  policy  of  an  island  state, 
and,  ignoring  the  European  Continent, 
has  devoted  herself  to  her  great  tasks  in 
the  rest  of  the  world.  Everyone  here 
thinks  it  would  be  a  good  thing  if  only  a 
considerable  body  of  English  troops  should 
appear  on  the  Continent ;  that  if  their  land- 
ing here  could  be  facilitated,  we  could  at  last 
get  at  England  and  htimble  her  pride.  With 
us  there  is  nowhere  even  the  glimmer  of  a 
true  conception  of  England's  military  power. 
*  *  * 

The  Germans  have  faith  in  their  nimieri- 
cal  superiority  and  their  better  military 
equipment.  They  do  not  believe,  in  fact, 
that  they  will  win  through  bravery, 
strength,  skill,  or  any  other  special  moral 
quality.  They  are  satisfied  as  soon  as  they 
may  hope  to  have  superior  numbers.  They 
are  confident  that  they  can  accomplish  as 
much  as  other  peoples,  but  not  that  they 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  145 

can  outdo  others.  It  does  not  occur  to 
them  to  be  ashamed  of  their  great  superior- 
ity in  numbers  when  they  use  it  to  crush  a 
weak  opponent  Hke  Belgium.  They  cele- 
brate their  achievements  the  more  loudly 
and  joyously,  the  greater  their  assurance  is 
of  overwhelming  strength. 

They  are  like  barbarians,  who  become 
intoxicated  with  victory,  even  if  it  has  been 
achieved  at  the  expense  of  defenseless  op- 
ponents. With  wild  hurrahs  they  are  al- 
ready distributing  in  their  tents  the  treasures 
and  the  men  taken  as  booty.  But  if  a 
strong,  courageous  enemy,  of  whose  ap- 
proach in  their  hour  of  victory  they  had 
had  no  warning,  should  surprise  them,  they 
would  again  take  hasty  flight  to  their 
swamps  and  forests  and  would  be  as  con- 
tent with  these  as  they  were  formerly  eager 
to  roam  all  over  the  earth,  mere  vagrants 
without  any  understanding  of  distances  or 
world  relationships. 


146         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

If  the  Germans  now  gain  the  hegemony  of 
Europe,  a  general  exodus  of  Europeans  will 
occur.  The  Germans  will  not  get  along 
among  themselves  and  will  break  up  into 
groups.  Then  the  remotest  corners  of 
Europe  will  become  the  most  desired  places 
of  refuge.  A  frightful  dislocation  of  the 
present  centers  of  intellectual  life  will  follow. 
And  if  there  is  no  longer  a  single  spot  in 
Europe  which  the  Germans  do  not  domin- 
ate, then  there  will  be  a  true  migration  of 
peoples  to  lands  across  the  sea,  who  knows 
where?  Anywhere,  where  they  can  be  safe 
from  the  Germans. 

Europe  will  become  a  section  of  the  earth 
which  will  hardly  repay  the  inconveniences 
of  a  visit.  But  beyond  the  boundaries  of 
the  New  Germany  the  Germans  would  not 
dare  to  show  themselves.  Either  they 
would  have  to  withdraw  or  the  others  would 
yield  their  places  to  them.  With  pride 
and  horror  everyone  would  insist  that  he 
be  delivered  from  the  sight  of  a  German. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         147 

Only  after  the  exodus  had  run  its  course 
(which  one  might  hope  for  in  view  of  the 
world's  experiences  in  the  time  of  the  great 
Barbarian  invasions)  would  European  life 
possibly  settle  down  again. 


August  27th. 
Under  the  direction  of  the  Foreign  Office 
Germany  is  now  making  the  greatest  and 
most  unscrupulous  efforts  to  win  over  to 
the  German  cause  the  Governments,  the 
parliamentarians,  the  prominent  men,  the 
authors,  the  journalists,  and  all  other  pos- 
sible groups  in  the  countries  which  have 
remained  neutral.  I  shall  not  speak  here 
of  the  means  employed,  but  shall  only  say 
that  in  my  opinion  the  result  must  be  a 
negative  one.  Since  in  this  war  the  German 
cause  is  the  bad  cause,  one  can  describe 
Germany's  endeavors  to  win  adherence 
only  as  an  adventure  in  corruption.  The 
elements  which  attach  themselves  to  Ger- 


148         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

many  are  necessarily  the  worst  in  Europe. 
At  best  one  can  regard  them  as  deceived  or 
as  acting  from  motives  of  a  base  character. 

Since  nowadays  in  oiir  domestic  press 
many  foreign  expressions  of  opinion  are 
published,  which  are  favorable  to  Germany 
but  which  originate  in  most  part  in  Ger- 
many itself  or  come  from  unimportant  or 
anonymous  persons,  let  me  set  down  hur- 
riedly what  the  real  feeling  in  neutral  coun- 
tries is. 

In  Italy  public  opinion  and  the  press  are 
unanimous  against  Austria-Hungary;  the 
Government  favors  a  watchful  neutrality. 
Attempts  to  debauch  Italy  into  any  other 
attitude  are  foolish  and  harmful.  The 
promises  which  are  being  made  to  Italy 
must  turn  to  a  thorn  in  German  flesh.  The 
United  States  of  North  America  do  not 
sympathize  with  us.  Americans  living  in 
Germany  consider  it  prudent  to  sing  the 
praises  of  the  country  whose  bread  they  eat, 
but  the  press  in  general  on  the  other  side 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         149 

of  the  Atlantic  is  hostile  to  Germany.  The 
Government  is  very  reserved  and  certainly 
has  no  idea  of  giving  Germany  any  assist- 
ance. 

I  have  recently  spoken  of  Rumania.  As 
regards  Bulgaria  and  Turkey,  there  is  in 
those  countries  no  genuine  feeling  for  us 
— only,  at  the  most,  a  concern  for  their 
own  selfish  interests.  As  soon  as  these  two 
nations  begin  to  think  that  the  chances  of 
victory  are  on  our  side,  they  will  make 
advances  to  us  and  unite  with  us  for  the 
sake  of  benefits  which  they  covet  and  have 
in  view.  No  trace  of  enthusiasm  can  ideal- 
ize the  attitude  of  these  eventual  allies. 

No  sympathy  with  Germany  can  be  ex- 
pected of  states  like  Holland,  Switzerland, 
Denmark,  Norway,  and  Sweden.  These 
states  have  just  witnessed  the  fate  meted 
out  to  Belgium.  They  maintain  a  strictly 
correct  attitude  in  order  not  to  offer  any 
pretext  for  the  violation  of  their  neutrality. 
But  if  they  could  speak  freely  and  without 


150         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

fear,  then  we  should  find  that  Denmark  is 
hostile  to  us,  that  Norway  wishes  no  rap- 
prochement, that  Sweden  mistrusts  us, 
that  Holland  would  prefer  to  lean  on  Eng- 
land, and  that  Switzerland  feels  that  she 
had  no  vital  association  with  us.  In  spite 
of  its  present  embarrassing  situation  no 
one  of  these  states  would  think  of  staking 
its  salvation  on  us,  because  everyone  of 
them  would  then  become  dependent  and 
would  pass  within  a  sphere  of  influence 
very  distasteful  to  it.  The  press  of  all 
these  countries,  as  the  special  consideration 
it  gives  to  news  emanating  from  enemy 
countries  clearly  proves,  is  against  the 
German  cause  and,  at  most,  is  unpartisan 
from  reasons  of  prudence. 

So  let  us  leave  the  rest  of  the  world  in 
peace    and    neither    woo    it    tenderly    nor 
accept  its  attentions  with  gratitude. 
*  *  * 

Since  the  rumor  of  poisoned  wells  went 
the  rounds    in   various   countries,   another 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         151 

atrocity  charge  has  tiimed  up,  no  less  non- 
sensical, but  more  persistent.  The  enemy 
fires  dum-dum  bullets.  This  rumor,  too, 
is  credulously  accepted.  After  a  few  weeks 
the  people  may  realize  the  improbability 
of  an  army's  carrying  dum-dum  cartridges. 
In  the  meantime  we  have  received  "reas- 
suring explanations"  to  the  effect  that  the 
infection  of  wells  with  cholera  bacilli,  is  not 
so  easily  accomplished,  and,  if  achieved, 
can  be  easily  neutralized. 


The  German  authorities  seem  not  to 
have  yet  enough  of  the  popular  medieval 
psychosis  caused  by  the  hxmt  for  spies,  gold- 
carrying  automobiles,  and  similar  things. 
Some  military  ignoramuses  want  to  start 
again  this  dangerous  performance  of  ask- 
ing the  population  by  proclamation  to 
assist  the  police  in  detective  work.  Some 
High  Command  has  information  that  the 
enemy  keeps  carrier  pigeons  in  Germany, 


152  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

which  fly  home  with  important  disclosures 
about  the  national  defense!  The  popula- 
tion should  now  get  after  pigeons  and  pigeon 
breeders ! 

*  *  * 

Some  newspapers  think  that  Lord  Hal- 
dane  is  a  liar,  as  all  other  Englishmen  are, 
because,  unlike  Morley  and  some  other 
statesmen,  he  did  not  resign  his  office,  in 
view  of  his  repeatedly  manifested  friendli- 
ness to  Germany  and  his  many  solemn  de- 
clarations that  war  between  England  and 
Germany  was  impossible.  Has  it  ever 
occurred,  or  would  it  ever  occur,  to  any 
German  Minister  to  resign  because  of  sym- 
pathy he  had  formerly  expressed  with  one 
of  the  countries  on  which  Germany  has 
declared  war,  or  even  because  Germany 
committed  the  crime  against  Belgium? 
Besides,  no  one  here  knows  why  Morley 
resigned.  The  fact  only  is  known;  the 
reasons  are  not. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         153 

I  record  here  that  since  yesterday  the 
forts  of  Namur  are  in  German  possession, 
that  the  German  Crown  Prince  has  won 
another  victory,  that  the  Austrians,  too, 
announce  a  victory  over  the  Russians  on 
the  Galician  frontier,  and,  finally,  that  the 
French  have  formed  a  new  ministry  to 
replace  the  coalition  Cabinet  organized 
at  the  outbreak  of  the  war. 

August  28th. 

From  a  report  of  the  Quartermaster- 
General  it  may  be  seen  that  the  Germans 
have  seven  armies  on  the  Western  Front 
and  are  far  advanced  at  all  points.  Near 
Maubeuge  they  have  even  begun  envelop- 
ing the  enemy.  It  is  generally  accepted 
that  the  fate  of  the  enemy  armies  in  the 
West  has  been  practically  decided  and  that 
a  siege  of  Paris  will  soon  be  undertaken. 

And  now  it  is  even  reported  that  the  Eng- 
lish army  has  been  completely  beaten  west 
of   Maubeuge.     Parts   of   our   army  have 


154         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

advanced  as  far  as  St.  Quentin.  Defeat 
and  retreat,  wherever  French  armies  are! 
The  Government  of  France  has  advised  the 
Belgian  Government  that  it  is  unable  to 
offer  further  assistance,  because  France 
herself  has  been  thrown  on  the  defensive 
everywhere. 

Now  I  only  wish  that  the  French  Govern- 
ment would  be  sensible  enough  to  exhort 
the  civil  population  not  to  participate  in 
the  war;  for  otherwise  the  fate  of  that 
poor  country  might  be  terrible.  Only  to- 
day we  learned  that  the  Belgian  city  of 
Louvain  has  been  burned  down.  The  pop- 
ulation, it  is  alleged,  attacked  German 
troops  at  the  time  when  the  garrison  of 
Antwerp  made  an  unsuccessful  sally.  Nearly 
the  whole  population  is  said  to  have  taken 
part  in  this  uprising.  What  blindness  on 
the  part  of  the  citizens  and  the  City  Ad- 
ministration not  to  recognize  that  fighting 
against  regular  troops  is  useless,  and  must 
be  fatal  to  the  populace  and  the  country! 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         155 

For  the  enemy,  in  such  an  event,  indiscri- 
minately kills  and  devastates. 

One  shot  by  a  boy  from  an  opening  in  a 
roof  on  a  passing  courrier  costs  the  lives 
of  the  mayor  and  a  number  of  citizens. 
An  attack  by  a  mob  costs  the  lives  and 
property  of  hundreds  of  civilians.  But 
a  real  attack  in  the  streets  of  a  village 
or  city  entails  the  sacrifice  of  a  vast 
number  of  men,  women,  and  children 
and  the  destruction  of  their  homes  and 
property.  Retaliation  gathers  force  like 
an  avalanche. 

I  fear  for  France.  Since  1870  she  has  so 
often  glorified  the  war  made  by  francs- 
tireurs  that  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the 
Government  will  no  longer  succeed  in  in- 
culcating caution.  I  even  fear  that  the 
French  Government  does  not  favor  such 
caution,  but  prefers  the  destruction  of  the 
population,  along  with  the  army. 

At  least  I  cannot  help  entertaining  this 
thought  after  a  conversation  with  a  native 


156         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

of  Southern  France,  who  is  ordinarily  mild 
tempered.  I  pointed  out  to  him  that 
from  my  knowledge  of  the  German  charac- 
ter it  would  not  occur  to  any  German  to 
lift  even  a  finger  against  enemy  troops, 
because  he  knows  that  such  a  misdeed 
would  only  endanger  and  penalize  his  fellow 
countrymen. 

He  replied:  "This  may  be  true;  but  we 
think  otherwise.  A  war  with  Germany  is 
no  sport,  no  code  duello.  We  shall  admit 
ourselves  beaten  only  after  all  our  power  is 
exhausted,  and  we  care  little  about  the 
destruction  of  life.  The  methodical  and 
indiscriminate  way  in  which  the  Germans 
wreak  vengeance  upon  the  innocent  as  well 
as  upon  the  guilty  who  defend  themselves 
against  the  invaders,  only  pours  oil  into 
the  fire.  France  will  fight  again  by  francs- 
tireurs.  And  if  all  France  is  to  be  laid  in 
ruin,  I  prefer  her  destruction  to  submission 
to  the  more  terrible  fate  of  falling  under 
German  domination." 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         157 

August  29th. 

Manonvillers,  the  strongest  of  the  French 
detached  forts,  surrendered  last  night,  and 
the  road  between  Toul  and  Epinal  has 
thereby  been  opened.  If  the  war  plans 
outlined  in  the  Tribuna  are  correct,  the 
main  force  of  the  French  will  take  positions 
between  Epinal  and  Verdun,  with  Toul  as 
a  center.  But  no  one  here  believes  that 
any  fresh  French  armies  are  available. 

It  is  my  conviction  that  France  must  not 
perish.  She  will  be  saved.  It  is  true  she 
can  expect  no  pity  from  Germany.  Serious 
and  influential  men  said  to-day  in  my  pres- 
ence that  the  German  Empire  must  annex 
the  whole  country,  from  Calais  to  Marseilles. 
The  population  which  does  not  voluntarily 
emigrate  or  align  itself  with  Germany  will 
be  deported. 

Others  think  that  France  will  turn  away 
from  England  and,  to  save  herself,  make 
common  cause  with  Germany  against  Eng- 
land, that  ancient  enemy  of  the  Continent. 


158         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

But  these  people  are  fools.  France  is  no 
trader  like  Germany.  Her  convictions  are 
not  for  sale. 


Were  the  Germans,  or,  rather,  the  leading 
Prussians,  something  entirely  different  from 
what  they  are,  one  might,  since  war  has 
come,  not  grudge  them  victory  over  Europe 
and  the  honor  of  regulating  the  interna- 
tional relations  of  the  future.  We  all  in 
Europe  are  awaiting  the  coming  of  the  man 
who  will  finally  compose  our  eternal  quar- 
rels and  bring  in  peace  and  unity.  As  the 
savior  did  not  come  from  above,  the 
nations  had  begun  to  approach  one  another, 
in  the  hope  that  he  would  arise  from  their 
own  midst. 

But  what  qualities  must  such  a  victor  and 
ruler  have  to  be  able  to  unite  Europe!  He 
must  have  absolute  power  to  disrupt  every- 
thing, to  appropriate  everything,  to  permit 
wrong  to  continue,  to  destroy  right.    At  the 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         159 

same  time  he  must  be  of  such  a  character 
as  to  want  nothing  for  himself,  to  apportion 
everything  according  to  the  best  judgment 
of  his  enlightened  intellect,  to  create  perfect 
justice  through  kindness,  to  diminish  in- 
justice by  abolishing  all  privileges  and  class 
distinctions,  in  so  far  as  our  time  is  ripe 
for  it. 

If  France  were  conquered  by  such  a  ruler 
she  would  be  lifted  up  again  through  gener- 
ous love,  and  would  regain  her  independence 
and  her  lost  brethren  besides.  She  would 
retain  all  her  greatness  and  spiritual  im- 
portance ;  she  would  breathe  freer  and  more 
proudly,  depressed  by  no  threat  of  danger, 
weighted  down  by  no  political  mortgages. 

It  would  be  the  same  with  the  other 
countries.  The  tariff  barriers  would  be 
removed  and  compulsory  military  service 
abolished,  as  well  as  everything  else  which 
separates  and  estranges  peoples.  The  peo- 
ples of  Europe  would  gladly  place  them- 
selves imder  an  autocrat  who,  with  might, 


i6o         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

goodness,  and  wisdom,  denied  himself  in 
order  to  give  justice  to  others.  They  would 
know  that  he  would  yield  his  prerogatives 
as  soon  as  they  became  unessential  and 
would  not  persist  in  fighting  with  his  own 
limited  strength  for  the  salvation  of  the 
state,  instead  of  accepting  that  salvation 
from  the  superior  strength  of  the  people. 

Anyone  who  paints  this  Utopian  picture 
for  himself  must  shudder  to  think  that 
Prussia  will  never  bring  this  sort  of  peace 
to  Europe,  The  Prussia  of  to-day  can  only 
sow  a  deeper  hate  among  the  European 
peoples  and  aggravate  that  hate  into 
an  obsession.  She  will  steal  everything — 
everything  she  can  lay  her  hands  on — and 
will  hold  fast  to  it.  She  will  give  away  only 
what  she  attaches  no  importance  to  and 
will  make  such  gifts  only  at  the  expense  of 
others.  She  will  never  take  her  foot  off  the 
neck  of  the  conquered.  She  will  force  every 
alien  civilization  to  reverence  her  barbarity. 
She  believes  only  in  the  strong  fist  at  home 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         i6i 

and  abroad.     She  recognizes  no  power  on 
earth  but  the  power  of  compulsion. 
*  *  ♦ 

Every  Alsatian  who  fled  to  France  on  the 
outbreak  of  the  war,  as  Abbe  Wetterle  did, 
is  publicly  branded  as  a  rascal.  Yet  it  is 
pertinent  to  make  this  remark.  If  the  Ger- 
mans conquer  a  land,  they  expect  the  in- 
habitants to  renounce  their  whole  past  and 
become  pro-German.  The  only  duty  of  the 
conquered  population  is  to  adjust  itself  to 
the  political  change,  attach  itself  at  once  to 
the  new  Fatherland  and  to  defend  it  with 
their  lives  and  property  against  any  one  else, 
even  against  former  friends.  According  to 
the  German  view  there  is  no  need  to  bother 
about  the  conquest  of  souls.  The  bare  fact 
of  the  conquest  of  the  soil  is  sufficient.  It 
would  not  be  allowable  to  regard  the  popula- 
tion as  more  than  a  co-proprietor  of  the  land 
which  it  inhabits.  Whoever  doesn't  like  it 
can  emigrate  and  whoever  can't  emigrate 
must  be  satisfied. 


i62         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

But  if  a  German  province  were  ever  lost, 
it  would  doubtless  be  expected  of  the  in- 
habitants of  this  transferred  territory  that 
they  should  resolve,  after  the  peace,  never 
to  permit  themselves  to  be  robbed  of  their 
old  home  memories,  of  their  language, 
of  their  schools  or  of  their  irreconcilable 
spirit. 

Then  he  would  be  the  rascal  who  ad- 
justed himself  to  the  changed  relations 
which  merged  the  old  Fatherland  with  the 
new  Fatherland ;  and  it  would  go  hard  with 
all  those  who  had  preached  submission  to 
fate,  if  the  German  Empire  by  any  chance 
should  be  able  to  guide  the  lost  sheep  home 
again. 

In  other  words,  so  long  as  the  acquisitive 
instincts  of  Governments  and  not  the  wishes 
of  the  population  are  the  arbiters  in  such 
matters,  there  will  be  no  logic  or  ethics  in 
accordance  with  which  the  imfortunate  in- 
habitants of  annexed  territory  can  live. 
They  cannot  make  good  with  both  sides. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         163 

They  must  ruin  themselves  with  one  or  the 
other,  or  else  become  completely  flabby  and 
characterless,  as  those  have  done  who  in  the 
course  of  centuries  have  had  to  change  their 
colors  half  a  dozen  or  even  a  dozen  times. 

With  such  people,  who  find  themselves 
in  a  ceaseless  cross-pull  of  obligations 
and  influences.  Governments  ought  to  show 
sympathy,  kindness,  and  patience,  and  not 
be  brutal  and  intolerant.  They  are  not 
rascals,  whichever  side  they  cleave  to. 
They  are  martyrs  of  an  immoral  policy. 
The  less  craven  they  are,  the  worse  is  their 
lot. 

More  frightful  than  the  lot  of  the  Alsa- 
tians and  Lorrainers  (if  such  a  thing  were 
possible)  is  the  lot  of  the  Poles.  The  three 
robbers  and  dismemberers  of  Poland  have 
fallen  out.  Russia  claims  the  loyalty  of  her 
own  Poles,  but  invites  the  German  and 
Austrian  Poles,  in  recognition  of  a  sacred 
duty,  to  throw  off  the  German  and  Austrian 
yokes  and  to  make  common  cause  with  their 


1 64         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

Russian  Polish  brethren — even  with  Russia 
herself.  Russia  promises  them  the  realiza- 
tion of  their  dream  (now  also  suddenly- 
spoken  of  as  "  holy  ")  of  national  rebirth  and 
unity. 

Of  course,  this  will  all  be  under  Russian 
protection.  Thus  speaks  Russia,  which 
incited  the  dismemberment  of  Poland,  has 
uninterruptedly  approved  it  and  has  re- 
pressed every  effort  for  the  improvement 
of  Poland's  condition. 

Prussia,  which,  to  say  the  least,  does  not 
love  her  Poles,  has  passed  laws  expropriat- 
ing their  land  holdings  and  will  have  no 
community  with  them,  but  would  prefer  to 
scatter,  destroy,  and  virtually  wipe  them 
off  the  face  of  the  earth,  now  summons  them 
to  the  defense  of  the  "Fatherland,"  its 
territory  and  its  culture  against  Muscovite 
oppression  and  tyranny.  She  exudes  ftil- 
some  flattery  about  the  war  enthusiasm  of 
these  poor  oppressed  people,  as  tliough  her 
Poles  were  all  volunteers  and  not  conscripts, 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         165 

whom,  with  their  wives  and  children,  she 
would  shoot  down  at  the  first  movement 
looking  toward  freedom. 

Prussia  makes  a  gesture  toward  Russian 
Poland  and  exclaims  to  her  own  Poles: 
"Join  with  us  in  freeing  your  suffering 
brethren;  the  dawn  of  a  New  Poland  is  at 
hand."  But  there  is  no  talk  of  letting  the 
Prussian  Poles,  as  a  reward,  unite  them- 
selves to  the  future  Polish  state.  In  fact, 
whatever  happens,  no  man  can  believe  that 
Prussia  will  ever  voluntarily  part  with  her 
Polish  territory.  If  she  is  the  victor  then 
she  will  take  still  other  strips  of  Polish 
territory  in  order  to  round  out  her  eastern 
boundary.  The  Poles  themselves  may  emi- 
grate. We  shall  gladly  help  them  in  every 
way  to  do  so.  But  woe  to  them  if  they 
should  make  claims  to  Prussian  soil!  Why 
then  do  we  excite  their  appetite  for  Russian 
territory? 

One  can  see  how  hard  it  is  for  the  Poles 
to  do  what  is  right.    They  cannot  and  may 


i66         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

not  deal  openly  and  honorably.  They  must 
tack  and  shift  until  they  can  side  with  the 
victor,  and  then  they  must  again  protect 
themselves  against  the  victor.  Meanwhile 
the  violent  struggles  of  the  three  belligerents 
will  occur  mostly  in  the  Polish  provinces. 
If,  later,  the  liberation  comes  which  the 
three  belligerents  now  promise  to  Poland, 
the  smile  of  triumph  must  follow  the  most 
frightful  suffering. 

To-day  there  are  many  indications  that 
the  Russian  Poles  wish  to  support  Austria. 
In  my  opinion  that  would  be  the  best  atti- 
tude for  them  to  take  for  the  present.  Aus- 
tria has  treated  her  Poles  well  in  many 
respects.  To  Prussia  or  Russia  the  sprout- 
ing Polish  hope  cannot  attach  itself  with 
either  confidence  or  self-respect.  Has  Prus- 
sia for  that  reason  thought  it  proper  to  speak 
through  Austria  with  the  coming  Poles? 
Or,  because  Prussia  has  herself  made  no 
promises,  would  she  like  to  be  able  in  the 
end  to  repudiate  all  promises? 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         167 

I  know  nothing  about  the  negotiations. 
But  Austria's  position  with  regard  to  the 
Russian  Poles  also  becomes  difficult  as  soon 
as  the  discussion  turns  on  the  future  of  the 
Austrian  Poles.  Austria  has  always  sought 
a  more  honorable  and  liberal  solution  of  the 
Polish  problem  than  the  other  two  powers. 
It  is  my  inmost  hope  that  Austria  will  some 
day  let  Galician  Poland  go.  She  would  be 
repaid  a  thousand  times  by  the  friendship 
of  Poland.  A  better  opportunity  than  the 
present  one  can  hardly  come. 

I  am  too  skeptical  to  have  any  expecta- 
tions of  such  a  thing,  and  I  therefore  suppose 
that,  with  the  exception  of  the  Prussian 
holdings  (for  they  will  not  be  given  up)  the 
Austrian  Monarchy  will  try  to  annex  the 
whole  of  Poland.  If  the  Poles  were  sin- 
cerely satisfied  with  such  a  change  of  status, 
then  this  solution  would  be  adequate.  It 
would  bring  great  advantages  to  the  new 
Polish  state — for  instance,  a  secure  and 
tranquil  start  toward  greater  development. 


i68         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

And  Austria  would  also  deserve  Poland's 
gratitude. 

But  because  no  one  to-day  wants  to  be  an 
immediate  neighbor  of  Russia,  it  is  also 
possible  that  Austria,  like  Prussia,  will 
maintain  her  present  boundaries  and  that 
the  new  buffer  state  of  Poland  will  be 
carved  out  of  the  skin  of  the  Russian  bear — 
and  carved  out  of  it  very  generously.  But 
in  that  case  the  liberated  Poles  will  not  cease 
to  maintain  intercourse  across  the  frontier 
barriers  with  their  unliberated  brethren,  and 
the  situation  will  be  more  discomforting  than 
ever.  Indeed  we  might  then  discover  the 
new  Poland  to  be  an  ally  of  Russia. 

For  that  reason  I  should  wish  that  Austria 
this  time  at  least  so  deals  with  the  Poles  as 
to  deserve  their  love  and  gratitude ;  and  also 
does  more  than  mere  self-interest  in  her 
battle  with  Russia  requires.  The  Poles  will 
notice  the  difference  and  will  appreciate  it; 
they  have  a  fine  feeling  in  such  matters. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         169 

Things  are  getting  worse  with  our  Ger- 
man ladies!  We  still  live  in  the  first  stages 
of  exaltation  over  our  victories;  the  last 
trains  carrying  our  heroes  are  not  yet  across 
the  border;  masculine  hate  against  the  de- 
spised enemy  still  blazes  in  the  most  fantas- 
tic flames ;  but  the  joyful  to-do  of  our  women 
folk  at  the  sight  of  real  prisoners  of  war 
seems  to  dominate  all  other  feelings.  Mili- 
tary and  civil  authorities  thunder  daily  in 
new  tirades  against  the  unworthy  daughters 
of  Eve,  who,  one  must  assume,  form  a  pro- 
tective wall  between  their  own  countrymen 
and  the  enemy's  prisoners  and  wounded. 
It  would  pay  someone  some  day  to  write  a 
book  about  these  remarkable  developments. 

It  is  forbidden  to  offer  enemy  soldiers 
kindly  attentions  and  refreshments,  and  the 
railroad  stations  are  closed  to  the  frail  sex 
during  the  passage  of  prisoners'  trains. 
Visits  by  women  to  the  hospitals  and  to 
prisoners'  camps  are  forbidden;  all  sorts 
of  punishments   and  public  ostracism    are 


170         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

threatened.  One  hears  continually  that  it 
was  this  way  also  in  1870.  Is  not  many  a 
lie  unwillingly  confessed  through  these  re- 
pressive measures  ?  The  problem  seems  to 
me  a  deep  one  and  worthy  of  psychological 
investigation.  Let  us  keep  before  our  eyes 
the  fact  that  the  female  population  in  the 
enemy  countries  have  taken  no  such  friendly 
attitude  toward  our  captured  German  he- 
roes. Let  us  remember  also  what  great 
preference  German  young  women  used  to 
show  in  peace  times  for  anything  exotic 
appearing  amongst  them  and  let  us  draw 
our  own  conclusions  therefrom. 

August  30th. 
Yesterday  we  received  news  that  five 
Russian  army  corps  were  defeated  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  province  of  East 
Prussia  and  were  driven  back  across  the 
border.  At  the  same  time  a  manifesto  of 
the  new  French  Government  is  published 
which  speaks  of  the  continued  advance  of 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  171 

the  Russians  towards  Berlin.     As  water  in 

the  wine  with  which  Germany  is  at  present 

intoxicating  herself  comes  the  news  of  a  less 

successful   battle   in   the   North   Sea   near 

Heligoland.    The  English  have  lost  but  one 

ship,   while  the  Germans  have  had  three 

small  cruisers  and  one  torpedo  boat  sent  to 

the  bottom. 

4:  *  * 

It  is  claimed  that  we  are  a  civilized  people 
through  and  through.  We  continually  re- 
peat this  to  ourselves  and  to  others.  And 
the  reply  we  get  is:  "You  are  Huns  and 
barbarians. ' '  The  chief  of  the  Great  General 
Staff,  von  Moltke,  yesterday  told  the  world 
that  the  German  soldier  is  no  murderer  and 
incendiary,  that  he  unwillingly  takes  action 
against  enemy  civilians  participating  in 
hostilities.  But  I  heard  the  complaint  made 
afresh  by  our  own  officers  that  the  soldiers 
are  no  longer  to  be  held  back  and  that  they 
plunder  and  burn  without  any  excuse  for 
doing  so. 


172         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

Generally  speaking,  one  may  say  of  the 
German  soldier  that  he  is  normally  good- 
natured  and  is  not  disposed  to  do  injury  to 
harmless  people,  so  long  as  he  finds  no  ob- 
stacles put  in  his  prescribed  way.  But  once 
disturbed,  he  becomes  frightful,  because  he 
lacks  any  higher  capacity  of  discrimination ; 
because  he  merely  does  his  duty  and  recog- 
nizes no  such  thing  as  individual  conscience 
and,  besides,  when  he  is  excited  becomes  at 
once  blind  and  super-ne;'vous. 

This  same  phenomenon  was  observable 
in  our  police  in  peace  times.  They  are  also 
good-natured,  even  if  harsh,  technical,  and 
very  arbitrary  when  they  give  commands, 
instead  of  being  helpful.  What  has  made 
them  so  immeasurably  hated  with  us  is  their 
attitude  toward  street  assemblages,  strikes, 
and  other  disturbances  of  the  peace. 

As  soon,  for  example,  as  they  are  called 
upon  to  clear  a  street  they  lose  all  sense  of 
tactfulness,  all  comprehension  of  the  value 
of  conciliatory  methods.     They  never  think 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         173 

of  employing  a  quieting  gesture  or  a  sooth- 
ing word.  They  become  themselves  so 
excited  and  so  raging  that  they  are  only 
machines  driven  by  a  word  of  command. 
With  drawn  swords  or  revolver  shots  they 
dash  ahead,  trampling  down  everything 
without  really  knowing  what  they  are  doing. 

One  might  say  that  it  is  a  curious  mixture 
of  fear  and  duty  which  sets  this  powerful 
but  unintelligent  machine  to  work.  Mostly 
the  weak,  the  helpless,  and  the  innocent  are 
left  lying  as  victims;  the  old  offenders  and 
the  cunning  keep  out  of  the  way  of  the  pon- 
derous automaton.  Anyone  who  has  ever 
witnessed  such  a  scene,  or  has  been  caught 
or  nearly  caught  in  it,  is  filled  with  shame 
and  disgust.  Those  who  have  only  heard 
of  such  things  think,  of  course,  that  they  are 
all  right. 

When  a  few  years  ago  in  Berlin  on  the 
occasion  of  a  disturbance  of  this  sort  some 
foreign  journalists,  who  were  in  an  auto- 
mobile, were  wounded,  together  with  their 


174         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

chauffeur,  by  on-rushing  policemen — and 
this  in  spite  of  their  presentation  of  iden- 
tification papers — many  apologies  were 
made.  But  the  general  opinion  was  that 
these  journalists  had  no  business  to  be  there. 
As  if  in  case  of  bloody  clashes  between  the 
police  and  the  populace,  the  press  should 
not  inform  itself  as  to  what  is  going  on! 

So  I  can  well  imagine  the  German  soldier 
in  Belgium  as  good-hearted  as  a  child  (as 
our  officers  love  to  depict  him),  ready  to 
help  the  inhabitants,  to  share  his  bread  with 
them,  and  to  become  their  friend;  shrinking 
at  first  inwardly  from  the  horrors  of  war, 
but  obeying  unconditionally  the  command 
which  drives  him  forward — I  might  say 
helpless  without  that  command,  which  is 
his  own  safety  and  his  whole  justification; 
but  quickly  hardened  to  outrages  and  in- 
spired by  a  frightful  earnestness,  as  soon  as 
he  is  bidden  to  do  something  frightful. 

Now  he  hears  rumors  that  the  inhabitants 
treacherously  shoot  out  of  the  houses.    He 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         175 

is  filled  with  uncomfortable  feelings  and  a 
very  critical  mistrust.  He  is  told  that  indis- 
criminate action  must  be  taken  against  the 
inhabitants  and  against  the  towns  and 
villages  they  live  in  if  there  is  a  well 
grounded  suspicion  that  these  inhabitants 
have  taken  part  in  the  fighting. 

He  no  longer  makes  distinctions.  Every 
unexplainable  shot  in  a  locality  is  the  signal 
for  ruthless  murder.  With  a  berserker  rage 
he  storms  into  the  houses  and  sets  them  on 
fire.  Since  his  comrades  shoot  and  mur- 
der, he  does  the  same.  It  is  hard  to  get 
him  to  stop.  No  one  orders  him  to  stop; 
they  all  know,  and  wish  only  to  know,  that  a 
shot  out  of  a  house  gives  them  the  right  and 
imposes  on  them  the  duty  to  ravage  until 
no  living  thing  any  longer  stirs. 

I  have  been  frequently  informed  that 
soldiers  began  to  shoot  into  houses  because 
their  comrades  in  another  street  were  shoot- 
ing into  them.  Ah,  if  there  were  only  lack- 
ing   that   terrible   haste   with   which    the 


176         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

German  soldier  does  his  duty,  even  against 
the  innocent !  Many  an  explanation  could  ' 
be  given ;  many  a  distinction  could  be  made. 
If  the  commanders  understood  how  to  talk 
in  the  right  way  to  the  populace,  how  to 
quiet  it,  how  to  mingle  moderation  with 
severity,  the  soldier  would  learn  from  such 
example  and  would  have  a  far  greater  sense 
of  superiority  and  security — beneficial  bcth 
to  him  and  to  the  enemy — than  he  now 
has. 

As  he  is  now  trained  and  acts,  he  has  no 
more  capacity  to  discriminate  than  the 
Russian  soldier  has.  No  circumstances  can 
justify  the  willful  destruction  of  the  city  of 
Louvain  by  fire.  They  might,  after  master- 
ing the  revolt,  have  meted  out  punislrmient 
with  a  certain  amount  of  self-control.  They 
ought  not  to  have  set  fire  to  the  city,  even 
if  they  had  given  the  population  time  to 
leave  it. 

It  is  said  that  also  in  Namur  incredible 
outrages  occurred.  A  newspaper 'correspond- 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         177 

ent  describes  how  the  market  place  and 
other  sections  were  set  on  fire  because  shots 
had  been  fired  at  the  soldiers ;  how  the  vice- 
governor  vainly  looked  for  a  responsible 
officer  to  talk  to  about  measures  for  sparing 
the  city  and  obtaining  food ;  how  thousands 
of  weeping  women  and  children  fled  into  the 
fields  without  knowing  where  to  find  shelter ; 
how  hundreds  of  terrified  people  were  shout- 
ing from  their  houses  to  learn  what  they 
must  do  in  order  that  the  firing  might  cease 
— ^whether  they  should  stay  in  the  cellars, 
whether  they  should  open  the  doors  and 
windows  of  the  houses,  etc. 

But  anyone  may  read  for  himself  what 
our  own  correspondents  have  reported 
during  the  last  few  days.  Most  grotesque 
is  the  story  of  a  correspondent  to  the  effect 
that  the  population  of  Namur  had  no  pa- 
triotism whatever  and  despicably  struck 
up  a  friendship  with  the  German  soldiers. 

It  is  terrible,  confused,  senseless.  We 
have  conquered  Namur.     But  we  are  not 


178         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

masters  of  the  situation.  We  are  neither 
mentally  nor  morally  qualified  for  that 
mastery.  We  cannot  distinguish  between  a 
militiaman  and  a  franc-tireur,  between  a 
farmyard  and  a  town,  between  guilt  and 
innocence.  We  want  to  be  victorious,  re- 
gardless of  the  means  employed.  We  want 
to  have  peace  again  as  soon  as  possible. 
To  attain  this  end  we  march  over  dead 
bodies.  "Military  necessity"  is  the  name 
of  the  principle  of  justice  which  covers  all 
outrages. 


Yesterday  we  discussed  again,  in  a  circle 
of  very  prominent  men,  all  these  horrible 
acts.  There  was  no  one,  save  myself,  who 
did  not  approve  of  them.  No  one  thinks  of 
leniency — least  of  all  to  Belgium.  The  Bel- 
gians are  nothing  but  enemies,  and  the 
circumstances  of  the  beginning  of  hostilities 
have  been  forgotten  by  the  Germans.  They 
(the   Germans)    greet   with  joy   the   order 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  179 

issued  by  the  new  governor  which  forces 
all  the  newspapers  in  Belgium  to  be  printed 
in  German.  Whether  the  people  under- 
stand German  does  not  matter.  Let  them 
learn  it.  That  a  Zeppelin  drops  bombs  on 
the  public  buildings  of  Antwerp  fills  all  with 
satisfaction.  Antwerp  is  a  fortress;  there- 
fore it  is  right  to  do  so.  Moreover,  it  is  of 
advantage  to  spread  terror  wherever  possi- 
ble. A  general  writes  in  the  "Tag"  (a 
section  of  the  Berlin  Lokal  Afizeiger) : 

"Belgium  is  and  will  henceforth  remain 
German.  Not  because  we  want  the  few 
millions  of  rabble  living  there.  No,  they 
may  emigrate.  But  because  we  need  their 
land,  their  mineral  deposits,  and  especially 
their  coast  and  their  ports,  in  order  to  get 
at  the  English." 

When  I  disapproved  of  this  language  the 
others  shouted  in  unison : 

"What  he  said  is  all  right." 

No  doubt  they  want  to  sow  hatred  and 
violence,  and  they  will  reap  the  whirlwind. 


i8o         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

In  the  meantime  to  the  poor  Belgians  getting 
Germanized  and  being  stripped  of  all  rights 
mean  one  and  the  same  thing. 


He  who  informs  the  world,  as  we  did 
through  our  Imperial  Chancellor,  that  ne- 
cessity knows  no  law,  has  forfeited  the 
right  to  be  morally  indignant  at  the  per- 
fidiousness  of  the  francs-tireurs.  For  they, 
too,  are  under  the  stress  of  necessity.  We 
did  not  respect  treaties.  We  cannot  expect 
from  other  peoples  a  fidelity  to  them  any 
different  from  our  own. 

But  our  viewpoint  will  not  prevail.  There 
is  a  moral  element  in  human  development 
which  will  overcome  us  the  more  we  chal- 
lenge it. 

Now  only  am  I  beginning  to  know  my 
countrymen  I  now  fully  understand  the 
sarcasm  of  one  of  our  diplomats  who,  in 
characterizing  a  certain  Dutch  Minister, 
said  to  me  recently:   "You  know,  he  is  a 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         i8i 

man  who  believes  in  the  sanctity  of  treaties 
— as  though  they  spoke  the  final  word." 


Whatever  one  may  say,  a  war  like  that 
just  begun  cannot  be  carried  on  long.  Those 
who  took  the  field  did  not  know  what  they 
were  doing.  There  had  been  too  long  a 
peace.  He  who  has  gone  through  a  few 
battles  will  tire  of  the  crime  of  war,  will  find 
the  game  not  worth  the  candle.  Those  who 
have  remained  at  home  and  been  witnesses 
of  the  falsity  and  misery  of  it  all  will  call  a 
halt.  The  voices  of  command  will  die  away. 
It  will  be  difficult  to  escape  disillusionment. 
Just  see  how  quickly  the  enthusiasts  got 
depressed  when  for  a  few  days  no  victory 
was  recorded,  when  some  ships  were  lost, 
when  the  Russians  advanced  across  the 
frontier. 

Immediately  enjoyment  of  the  suffering 
of  the  enemy  sticks  in  the  throat.  Imme- 
diately exaltation  yields  to  sober  reflection. 


1 82         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

But  it  would  be  a  shame  if  only  distress  and 
failure  were  to  crush  out  the  war  spirit. 
That  ought  to  be  achieved  by  clearer  insight. 
Will  it  do  it?  When  will  it  do  it?  I  don't 
know.  I  no  longer  understand  men,  and  I 
begin  to  believe  that  I  have  never  under- 
stood them. 

August  31st. 
As  long  as  the  aims  and  ends  of  politics 
are  not  at  one  with  the  plain  fundamen- 
tals of  general  himian  morals,  so  long  will 
statesmanship  remain  a  criminal  trade. 
To-day  the  dogma  obtains  with  all  the  ser- 
vants of  the  state  that  their  highest  duty 
is  to  be  useful  to  the  state.  This  obligation 
sanctifies  all  means.  Perfidy,  lying,  forgery, 
deception,  treachery,  corruption,  and  mur- 
der are  no  longer  loathed  where  the  state 
is  concerned.  But  whence  do  we  derive  the 
right  to  set  the  state  to  which  we  belong 
above  other  states  and  peoples  and  to  con- 
sider its  interests  superior  to  the  clearest 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         183 

moral  commands?  Are  we  not  first  of  all 
himian  beings?  Have  we  not  the  same  duty 
to  perform  to  all  men  ? 

The  state  idea  in  its  present-day  form 
separates  men  artificially  from  one  another 
and  creates  all  sorts  of  hateful  distinctions 
between  them.  The  modern  state  wishes 
its  subjects  to  be,  in  relation  to  other 
men,  brutal,  covetous,  envious,  obtuse,  and 
bigoted. 

Moreover,  the  morals  of  the  state  natu- 
rally color  the  morals  of  all  those  who  count 
themselves  among  its  supporters.  Thus  all 
industrial  magnates  believe  that  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  work  which  they  are  carrying 
on,  they  may  employ  any  means  to  reap  the 
fullest  fruits  of  their  labors.  They  say,  even 
as  the  state  does,  that  they  do  not  act  thus 
out  of  selfishness,  but  from  a  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility for  their  great  enterprises,  from 
solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  the  part  of 
humanity  for  which  they  are  trustees. 
Their  dependents  must  have  a  good  and 


184         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

pious  conception  of  life.  They  must  be  soft 
as  wax  as  servants,  hard  as  iron  as  workers, 
even  as  the  state  wants  its  subjects  to  be. 
But  since  every  servant  is  also  a  master,  and 
it  is  not  possible  to  keep  the  coin  of  the  one 
system  of  morals  unmixed  with  the  coin  of 
the  other  system,  the  general  corruption 
and  confusion  of  public  and  private  opinion 
are  explained.  So  are  our  acts  and  ambi- 
tions. And  all  these  together  explain  the 
war. 

If  we  want  to  restore  to  mankind  its  most 
essential  basis — which  is  mutual  confidence 
— we  must,  above  all  things,  combat  the  idea 
that  there  may  be  a  different  morality  for 
different  individuals  or  for  different  human 
institutions.  Equality  in  this  respect  must 
be  the  rule.  If  states  lose  thereby  in  sharp- 
ness and  individuality  of  outline,  it  will  be 
all  the  better  for  the  world. 

A  state's  form  of  government  is  of  little 
consequence.  The  main  thing  is  the  point 
of  view  of  those  who  are  at  the  head  of  it. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         185 

If  a  monarch  is  humane  and  high-minded, 
he  can,  owing  to  his  great  power,  often  do 
more  for  the  Hberation  of  mankind  than 
the  noblest  leader  of  a  republic.  Like  a  bad 
example,  a  good  example  set  in  high  places 
is  immediately  heeded  and  emulated  below. 
In  our  times,  however,  those  in  authority 
frequently  abuse  the  populace  for  following 
their  example  and  drawing  from  it  deduc- 
tions injurious  to  them.  You  cannot  appeal 
to  the  sense  of  justice  of  the  people  when 
you  ask  it  to  defend  the  unrighteous  con- 
duct of  the  state. 


Many  of  our  officers  speak  affectingly  of 
"our  brave  fellows,"  who  even  during  the 
war  submit  to  the  same  discipline  as  on  the 
drill  ground,  and,  for  instance,  get  up  quickly 
from  the  ground  and  stand  at  attention 
whenever  an  officer  passes  by,  no  matter 
how  tired  they  are.  But  is  not  this  emotion 
on  the  part  of  the  officers  also  affecting? 


1 86  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

They  have  in  times  of  peace  constantly 
drilled  these  ''brave  fellows,"  imparted  to 
them  an  artificial  carriage,  a  forced  gait, 
a  mechanical  salute;  and  now  they  are 
touched  that  the  effects  of  this  training 
persist  even  in  war,  where  sometimes  one 
human  life  is  worth  as  much  as  another. 
But  do  you  not  know,  my  countrymen, 
that  the  German  enjoys  this  compulsion, 
this  automatic  regulation  of  all  his  physical 
and  mental  activities?  After  the  first  dis- 
comforts of  this  discipline  vanish,  he  ac- 
quires a  feeling  of  security,  of  ease  and 
cheerfulness,  which  he  loses  again  as  soon 
as  he  is  not  enabled  to  act  according  to 
command.  No,  let  him  stick  to  his  fetters 
and  his  pulleys;  he  kisses  them;  they  make 
his  existence  simple  and  good.  Without 
wires  to  set  him  in  motion  he  would  be 
helpless  in  the  face  of  his  own  complicated, 
clumsy  mechanism.  He  would  be  mortified 
and  would  hide  his  head  with  shame. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  187 

The  story  about  the  dum-dttm  bullets, 
which  I  recently  dismissed  as  incredible,  is 
getting  worse  and  worse!  The  French  and 
English  use  them !  Thousands  of  them  have 
been  found  in  cartridge  boxes;  the  Kaiser 
has  examined  specimens  at  headquarters; 
the  Crown  Prince  mails  postal  card  pictures 
of  them  to  friends  in  the  interior ;  they  have 
even  discovered  in  Nancy  a  machine  for  the 
manufacture  of  those  flattened  projectiles, 
which  are  forbidden  by  international  agree- 
ment. Energetic  counter  measures  are 
officially  announced.  I  don't  believe  a 
word  of  all  this.  An  explanation  will  be 
sure  to  come.  Then  our  adversaries  will 
retort  with  a  similar  accusation,  because 
that  is  the  way  of  war. 


Of  the  accusations  now  made  by  our  press 
against  France,  the  following  deserves  no- 
tice. An  Alsatian,  who  until  recently 
furnished  guncotton  to  the  French  Ministry 


1 88         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

of  War,  deems  it  proper  to  inform  the  Ger- 
man public  that  he  sold  to  France  nothing 
but  slop-made  goods,  which  never  would 
have  been  accepted  by  the  German  au- 
thorities. He  received  fine  prices  for  his 
trash,  for  he  had  to  bribe  the  French  pur- 
chasers. All  Frenchmen  who  buy  for  the 
French  army  and  navy  are  not  only  willing 
to  be  corrupted,  but  they  must  actually 
be  corrupted,  otherwise  one  cannot  do  any 
business  with  them.  Since,  however,  he 
personally  prefers  to  do  business  honorably, 
he  always  gladly  worked  for  the  German 
authorities  at  lower  rates.  When  we  now 
read  that  the  French  munitions  are  defec- 
tive, we  need  not,  in  view  of  these  revela- 
tions, be  greatly  surprised. 

This  self-accusation  on  the  part  of  the 
honest  Alsatian  certainly  is  more  precious 
than  his  defamation  of  the  French .  German 
self-respect  must  have  increased  extraor- 
dinarily, to  permit  the  publication  of  this 
foolish  effusion.    We  ought  first  to  examine 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  189 

the  glass  house  in  which  our  German  men 
of  honor  sit,  before  we  amuse  ourselves 
throwing  stones. 

*  *  * 

Up  to  now  I  had  been  firmly  convinced 
that  there  existed  certain  rudiments  of 
international  military  law  which  would  be 
strictly  observed  under  all  circumstances, 
if  for  no  other  reason  than  from  fear  of  a 
relapse  into  absolute  barbarism.  It  seems 
I  was  deceived.  The  newspapers  publish 
every  day  news  of  flagrant  violations  of 
international  usages  and  treaties.  I  have 
less  in  mind  at  this  moment  charges  involv- 
ing a  brutal  conduct  of  the  war,  refusal  to 
give  quarter,  mutilation  of  the  wounded  and 
even  of  dead  bodies,  disregard  of  the  Red 
Cross,  the  bombardment  of  open  cities,  and 
similar  outrages,  such  as  the  Balkan  States 
have  recently  been  indignantly  reproached 
for.  I  should  have  thought  that  the 
civilized  Great  Powers,  at  least,  would  keep 
a  cleaner  record  in  this  respect. 


190         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

Yet  I  am  less  surprised  at  crimes  like 
these,  which  may  be  due  to  misunder- 
standings, over-zeal,  or  the  arbitrary  action 
of  individuals,  than  I  am  at  the  mutual 
accusations  launched  of  mine-laying  in  the 
open  sea,  of  oppressive  treatment  of  neu- 
tral shipping,  of  the  capture  of  enemy 
vessels  in  the  waters  of  neutral  states — 
especially  of  contraventions  of  law  which 
are  undoubtedly  traceable  to  instructions 
from  the  highest  governmental  authorities. 
Of  a  similar  nature  are  the  announcements 
of  the  invalidating  of  patents  held  by  enemy 
subjects,  as  well  as  of  commercial  trans- 
actions already  entered  into;  of  the  annul- 
ment of  insurance  policy  rights,  of  the 
confiscation  of  foreign  deposits  in  the  banks, 
and  of  a  thousand  similar  proceedings,  which 
make  it  appear  as  though  both  international 
law  and  private  rights  were  suspended  and 
every  individual  belonging  to  an  enemy 
nation  was  regarded  as  beyond  the  pale 
of  legal  protection.    Some  of  these  reports 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         191 

may  be  exaggerated,  or  even  malicious 
inventions.  But  they  leave  a  very  unfavor- 
able impression.  Private  morality  is  as 
much  imperiled  as  public  morality. 


September  ist. 

The  German  victory  in  the  East  seems 
very  important. 

Seventy  thousand  prisoners  taken,  among 
them  two  commanding  generals;  several 
army  corps  completely  destroyed.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Austrians  seem  to  have 
fared  badly  in  a  big  battle  near  Lemberg. 
The  battle  has  continued  for  six  days  on  a 
front  of  four  hundred  kilometers. 

Dutch  newspapers  report  that  the  de- 
struction of  the  city  of  Louvain  is  attri- 
butable to  a  terrible  misunderstanding. 
Believing  that  they  had  been  attacked  by 
Belgian  civilians  in  Louvain,  the  German 
troops  are  said  to  have  fired  at  one  another. 
A   rumor   which   seems   to   me   the   more 


192         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

horrible,  since  I  know  for  certain  that  similar 
mistakes  were  made  in  other  Belgian  towns. 
I  even  fear  that  it  was  not  much  different  at 
Namur. 

I  have  already  said  what  I  think  about 
the  state  of  mind  of  the  German  soldier, 
the  minute  he  hears  the  crackling  of  mus- 
ketry. The  Dutch  newspapers  voice  my 
sentiments  by  asking:  Even  if  we  asstime 
that  the  German  version  of  the  conduct  of 
Louvain's  civil  population  was  true,  was 
there  not  a  middle  road  between  severe  war 
measures,  on  one  side,  and  regard  for 
humanity  and  Western  European  civiliza- 
tion, on  the  other?  A  glory  of  centuries  was 
demolished  at  a  single  blow. 


According  to  German  representations 
England  has  begun  hostilities  against  all 
the  German  colonies.  I  never  should 
have  thought  cheap  successes  across  the 
sea  would  matter    to  England.    Combats 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         193 

between  small  white  detachments  in  Africa 
and  elsewhere  cannot  affect  the  issue  of  the 
European  war.  But  the  loss  of  prestige  by 
the  whites  with  the  natives  is  enormous  and 
must  produce  bitter  consequences  in  the 
future.  Besides,  in  this  instance  also  an 
international  treaty  is  said  to  have  been 
disregarded,  since  according  to  the  Congo 
agreements  certain  African  colonies  were 
not  to  be  affected  by  a  war  between  mother 
countries.  I  do  not  know,  of  course,  whether 
it  be  true  that  the  English  started  the 
colonial  war.  If  I  had  confidence  in  the 
German  sources  of  news,  I  could  not  well 
doubt  it. 


The    Germans    are    delighted    with    the 

"truly  statesmanlike  speech  "  recently  made 

in  London  by  the  former  English  Minister, 

John  Bums,  who  resigned  because  of  the 

declaration  of  war.     The  speech  explains 

at  length  why  Bums  deems  it  a  folly  on  the 
13 


194         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

part  of  the  present  cabinet  to  give  up  Eng- 
lish neutrality. 

I  leave  out  of  the  question  whether  Bums 
is  right  or  wrong,  when  I  ask:  "Would  a 
similar  criticism  of  decisions  reached  by  our 
Government  be  permitted  in  Germany, 
either  at  a  great  public  gathering  or  in  the 
newspapers  ?  "  It  certainly  would  not.  But 
not  one  of  Mr.  Bums's  German  admirers 
seems  to  think  of  that. 

"Really  splendid;  he  hits  the  nail  on  the 
head,"  they  say.  But  that  is  all.  It  is  a 
real  misfortune  for  me  to  differ  so  from  my 
countrymen  in  my  views  on  matters  the 
most  important  and  the  most  trifling.  I 
am  a  stranger  at  home  as  well  as  beyond 
the  borders  of  my  country. 


We  read  that  the  French  Mediterranean 
fleet  honored  the  small  Austrian  vessel 
Zenta  with  a  roll  of  drums  and  flags  at  half- 
staff,  when  the  latter  sank,  after  a  brave 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         195 

combat  against  odds.  "Theatrical,"  some 
one  said  to  me  contemptuously.  I  see  in 
this  chivalrous  thought,  which  interposes 
between  us  and  complete  savagery,  an  ad- 
mirable capacity  to  rise  above  hostile  parti- 
sanship, an  effort  toward  reconciliation  with 
a  fallen  enemy,  an  attempted  exhibition  of 
freedom  from  hatred  and  malice.  Such 
gestures  on  the  part  of  our  adversaries  are 
not  rightly  judged  by  calling  them  "un- 
necessary and  useless."  Sometime  they 
may  come  as  a  great  blessing  and  we  may 
be  thankful  to  the  bottom  of  our  hearts  for 
such  a  piece  of  "  theatricality." 
*  *  * 

Appeals  to  God  and  praise  of  Him  never 
cease.  There  is  no  telegram  in  which  the 
Kaiser  does  not  say: 

"God  has  helped  us.  May  He  help  us 
further.  He  will  help  us  further,  the  Chris- 
tian God,  the  German  God,  the  God  of 
Bsfttles  who  never  deserts  the  righteous 
cause." 


196         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

What  will  the  Kaiser  say  if  we  lose  the 
war?  Will  he  manufacture  otjier  phrases 
or  will  he  talk  of  the  superior  force  of  the 
enemy,  of  the  treason  of  friends,  of  mistakes 
of  policy  or  by  his  generals,  of  the  gathering 
of  new  forces,  of  early  revenge,  or  of  wise 
submission  to  the  compulsion  of  circum- 
stances? Will  he  and  his  satellites  admit 
that  they  were  mistaken  in  God  and  that 
they  praised  Him  too  soon?  Will  they  admit 
the  injustice  of  our  cause  if  God's  judgment 
goes  against  us?  Will  they  recognize  then 
that  there  is  no  partisan  God?  Is  this  con- 
tinual reference  to  God  due  in  part  to  a  nar- 
row conception  of  life  or  is  it  only  a  govern- 
mental expedient?  Does  it  appear  to  the 
genuine  believer  as  blasphemy  or  as  in- 
spiration? And  what,  moreover,  are  the 
feelings  of  the  skeptics,  of  the  imbelievers? 

The  Protestant  ministers  take  up  the 
Christian  war  cry  of  the  Supreme  War  Lord 
with  ecstatic  cries  of  rage  and  talk  as  if  God 
wanted  to  reform  His  world  after  the  true 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         197 

Protestant-Prussian  model.  The  Catholic 
priests  are  more  moderate  and  humane. 
They  seem  not  to  have  attained  to  the 
higher  stages  of  Prussian  Kultur.  But  no 
matter  what  the  creed  of  the  modern  con- 
fessors of  Christ,  who  of  them  would  dare 
to  lift  his  eyes  and  call  himself  His  disciple, 
if  He  should  appear  among  us  and  wander 
through  our  armies,  our  battlefields,  our 
headquarters  and  capitals! 


As  soon  as  the  war  comes  to  an  end,  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  public  opinion  or  govern- 
mental policy  will  turn  against  the  private 
munitions  manufacturers.  State  arsenals 
for  the  manufacture  of  war  materials  are 
not  the  worst  feature  of  this  evil;  they 
are  confined  to  one's  own  country.  But 
the  contractors  who  stop  at  no  means  to 
entice  foreign  countries  into  purchasing 
arms  are  in  a  great  measure  responsible  for 
the  fact  that  the  whole  world  bristles  with 


198         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

weapons  and  every  country  thinks  that 
only  by  the  weight  of  arms  can  it  main- 
tain its  prestige.  What  a  great  step  for- 
ward it  would  be  if  the  victor  could  suspend 
the  munition  industry  in  every  country  and 
could  confine  the  preparation  of  war  ma- 
terial, arms,  munitions,  explosives,  etc.,  to 
government  plants !  If  the  trade  of  private 
factories  were  stopped;  if  at  least  direct  or 
indirect  sale  to  foreign  customers  were  in- 
terdicted, so  as  to  do  away  with  the  present 
disgraceful  and  unscrupulous  competition, 
there  might  not  be  at  once  an  end  of  com- 
petitive armament,  but  a  disarmament 
agreement  among  the  states  would  be 
materially  facilitated. 


September  2nd. 
I  have  just  read  the  English  Blue  Book, 
covering  the  events  leading  up  to  the  Euro- 
pean war.    It  is  hardly  possible  to  arrive  at 
a  complete  judgment  so  long  as  one  cannot 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         199 

compare  all  the  different  diplomatic  pub- 
lications. I  wish,  therefore,  only  to  write 
down  a  few  impressions  which  my  reading 
has  left  me.  Austria's  aversion  to  nego- 
tiate either  with  London  or  St.  Petersburg 
in  regard  to  her  procedure  against  Serbia  is 
an  outstanding  feature.  Her  ultimatum  to 
Serbia  again  impresses  me  as  the  fist  blow 
of  a  state  which  feels  that  it  can  only  get  the 
worst  of  it  in  an  argumentative  encounter. 

Serbia's  answer  strikes  me  as  even  more 
conciliatory  than  I  remembered  it.  She 
agrees  to  meet  all  the  demands  of  Austjria- 
Hungary.  She  does  not  fear  to  lose  anything 
in  the  eyes  of  the  world  by  trying,  in  a  re- 
spectful and  courteous  way,  to  appease  a 
raving  maniac.  My  impression  that  the 
Serbian  Government  seriously  strove  to 
avoid  war  has  been  strengthened.  The 
conference  and  mediation  proposals  of  Sir 
Edward  Grey  show  good-will,  great  pru- 
dence, and  caution. 

The  German  point  of  view  that  no  one 


200         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

ought  to  interfere  in  the  argument  between 
Vienna  and  Belgrade  appears  to  me  more 
manifestly  wicked  and  tricky  than  ever. 
Russia's  standpoint  becomes  more  justified 
when  compared  with  that  of  Germany  or 
Austria-Hungary.  Germany's  attempts  to 
reach  a  general  understanding  with  Eng- 
land in  regard  to  the  latter's  neutrality  have 
aroused  my  particular  interest,  and  Eng- 
land's reply  seems  to  me  just.  But  I  have 
still  the  feeling  that  it  would  have  been 
better  if  Germany  had  counted  definitely  on 
England  siding  with  France.  Of  course,  Sir 
Edward  Grey  could  not  state  his  position 
more  definitely  in  advance.  Had  he,  how- 
ever, been  able  to  do  this,  I  believe  that 
Germany  and  Austria-Hungary  would  have 
abandoned  their  warlike  attitude. 

Some  of  our  diplomats  are  placed  in  a 
rather  peculiar  light  by  the  Blue  Book.  The 
Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs  at 
Berlin  assured  the  English  Ambassador  that 
the  Serbian  Government  had  been  unable  to 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         201 

accept  some  of  the  Austrian  demands.  He 
himself  had  not  read  the  Austrian  note, 
which  left  much  to  be  desired.  But  the 
German  Ambassador  to  Vienna  told  his 
English  colleague  that  he  subscribed  to 
every  word  of  the  note.  It  is  also  main- 
tained that  the  German  Ambassador  knew 
the  text  of  the  note  before  it  was  sent  and 
had  wired  it  to  the  Kaiser.  The  German 
Ambassador  to  St.  Petersburg,  it  is  said, 
always  reported  to  his  Government  to  the 
effect  that  Russia  would  do  everything  in 
her  power  to  prevent  war. 

Many  passages  in  the  Blue  Book  show 
the  honest  wish  of  Belgium  to  maintain  her 
neutrality  and  to  defend  it  against  every- 
body. Furthermore,  they  show  that  both 
France  and  England,  on  their  side,  were  far 
from  intending  to  violate  Belgium's  neutral- 
ity. England  demanded  from  Belgium  not 
only  resistance  to  all  attempts  to  violate 
neutrality,  but  also  promised  Belgium  her 
full  support. 


202         The  Vandal  of  Europe    , 

Whoever  had  not  known  it  before  can  see 
from  the  Blue  Book  that  Germany  started 
the  war,  because  she  not  only  answered  the 
mobilization  of  Russia  with  her  own  mobili- 
zation, but  also  sent  a  short-term  ultimatum 
demanding  Russian  demobilization  and  de- 
clared war  without  delay.  Had  Germany's 
mobilization  not  meant  immediate  war; 
had  Germany  allowed  the  world  a  little  more 
time  for  consideration,  it  would  have  been 
possible,  with  a  little  spark  of  good  will,  to 
arrange  everything.  It  is  seen  from  the 
Blue  Book  that  at  the  moment  when  Ger- 
many sprang  at  the  throat  of  her  neighbor 
with  a  declaration  of  war,  Vienna  and  St. 
Petersburg  had  actually  reached  an  under- 
standing. Thanks  to  the  mediation  of  Sir 
Edward  Grey,  St.  Petersburg  had  finally 
agreed  that  Austria-Hungary  should  obtain 
satisfaction  from  Serbia,  provided  that  the 
integrity  and  sovereignty  of  Serbia  should 
be  preserved.  One  needs  only  to  read  the 
declaration  of  the  Russian  Ambassador  to 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  203 

Vienna ,  dated  August  i  st .  The  rift  between 
Russia  and  Austria  was  not  unbridgeable; 
but  that  between  Germany  and  Russia, 
which  was  entirely  independent  of  Austrian- 
Hungarian  interests,  did  all  the  mischief. 

It  is  also  interesting  to  learn  from  the 
Blue  Book,  that  England  raised  no  objec- 
tions against  the  violation  of  the  neutrality 
of  Luxemburg,  but  apparently  possesses  a 
doctrine  of  non-interference  in  Luxemburg, 
originating  in  the  year  1867. 

Finally  I  note  that  the  Italian  Govern- 
ment advised  the  French  Government  on 
August  ist  that  Germany  had  informed 
Italy  of  her  ultimatum  to  Russia  and  France, 
and  inquired  about  Italy's  intentions.  The 
Italian  Government  answered  that  the  war 
undertaken  by  Austria  was  an  aggressive 
one,  according  to  the  German  Ambassador's 
own  words,  and  therefore  was  contrary  to 
the  purely  defensive  character  of  the  Triple 
Alliance.  Such  being  the  case,  Italy  would 
remain  neutral. 


204         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

September  3d. 
It  is  reported  that  the  army  of  the  Crown 
Pnnce  of  Prussia,  after  successful  battles, 
is  now  between  Verdun  and  Rheims.  The 
battle  of  Lemberg  which  has  been  raging 
for  the  last  eight  days,  seems  to  have  ended 
unfavorably  for  the  Austrian  troops.  In 
the  last  few  days  Prussian  troops  have  been 
sent  to  the  East ;  all  ordinary  railroad  traffic 
was  again  suspended.  Were  they  sent  to 
aid  the  Austrians? 

September  4th. 
The  French  northern  fortresses  are  in  the 
hands  of  the  Germans;  Maubeuge  alone  is 
still  besieged.  German  cavalry  has  ad- 
vanced as  far  as  Paris.  The  victory  of 
General  von  Hindenburg  in  East  Prussia 
proves  ever  more  stupendous.  Austria- 
Hungary  reports  successes  at  Lublin,  but  at 
the  same  time  also  retreats  with  great  losses 
at  Lemberg.  We  are  surprised  in  Germany 
that  the  Russians  were  able  to  dash  into 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         205 

Eastern  Galicia  with  such  an  overwhelming 
force.  Russian  mobilization  proceeded,  after 
all,  more  rapidly  than  any  one  had  thought 
possible. 


The  German  press  may  learn  much  from 
the  respectful  and  decent  manner  in  which 
the  official  war  correspondents  of  the  Dual 
Monarchy  speak  of  the  Russian  soldiers  and 
their  conduct.  One  immediately  feels  more 
sympathy  for  a  cause,  if  its  spokesmen  do 
not  make  as  full  a  mouth  of  it  as  the  Prus- 
sians do,  who  find  everything  wrong  with 
their  adversaries,  individuals  or  nations, 
and  overwhelm  them  with  scorn,  insults, 
and  threats.  Even  the  official  military 
reports  lack  their  habitual  lapidary  style 
whenever  accusations  against  the  enemy  are 
made.  I  am  particularly  suspicious  of  the 
ever  more  and  more  wordy  assertions  that 
the  English  use  bullets  interdicted  by  inter- 
national law,  although  great  masses  of  such 


2o6         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

munitions  are  said  to  have  been  captured. 
Physicians  have  told  me  that  even  bullets 
whose  use  is  permissible  may  produce  very 
complicated  wounds,  as  the  lead  very  fre- 
quently protrudes  from  the  thin  copper  or 
nickel  casing.  The  condition  of  the  wound, 
therefore,  does  not  prove  with  certainty 
the  employment  of  dum-dum  bullets.  We 
have,  of  course,  been  familiar  with  the  am- 
munition used  by  the  enemy  before  the 
war.  Deviations  from  the  peace  model  can 
therefore  be  easily  established. 


We  are  beginning  to  be  impressed  by  the 
war  record  of  the  nobility — even  people 
among  us  who  do  not  recognize  that  its 
warlike  deeds  are  a  sufficient  justification 
for  its  existence,  because  with  us  every  one 
has  to  give  similar  service.  Princes  fight 
and  fall.  Consequently  many  people  enter- 
tain a  new  respect  for  them — even  a  sort 
of  astonished  admiration — as  though  they 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         207 

had  never  thought  or  expected  that  so  much 
courage  and  such  a  keenness  to  prove  their 
quaHty  were  left  in  the  nobiUty,  and  that 
the  nobility,  even  like  other  men,  would 
carry  their  skins  to  market.  So  modest  is 
the  German  commonalty  in  the  presence  of 
its  aristocratic  leaders,  who,  after  all,  are 
but  fighting  for  their  dearest  traditions  and 
for  their  political  existence. 


To  render  obedience  to  nobody  but  one- 
self is  a  doctrine  on  which  one  might  be 
tempted  to  base  the  morality  of  the  future. 
The  consequences  could  hardly  be  worse 
than  those  of  the  present  system  of  depen- 
dency, multiplied  a  thousandfold,  which  now 
falsifies  and  inextricably  entangles  our  lives. 

This  principle  would  undoubtedly  prove 
rich  in  blessings  if  it  were  combined  with 
another  principle — to  wit,  that  we  should 
show  consideration  to  all  men  and  do  injury 
to  none,  admitting  an  exception  to  the  rule 


2o8         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

to  a  certain  extent  in  the  case  of  those  who 
have  sinned  too  much  against  the  command- 
ment of  brotherly  love. 

Beyond  this  no  compulsion — only  the 
persuasion  of  willing  listeners  and  an  exer- 
cise of  command  only  so  long  as  obedience  is 
gladly  yielded.  No  cooperation  which  is 
not  voluntary;  agreements  to  be  valid  only 
so  long  as  they  rest  on  free  will.  An  im- 
mense revolution  would  result  from  the  un- 
hindered development  of  these  two  ideas. 
Therefore  we  should  have  to  prepare  for  a 
long  transition  period,  until  these  principles 
had  sunk  deep  into  popular  consciousness 
and  were  respected  to  about  the  same  ex- 
tent as  our  laws  now  are. 

The  ultimate  aim  would  have  to  be  kept 
in  view  and  a  course  constantly  steered 
toward  it.  But  in  the  interval  many  ex- 
ceptions would  have  to  be  made,  never 
forgetting  that  they  are  exceptions,  to  be 
discarded  as  soon  as  they  become  superflu- 
ous. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         209 

Would  not  such  reflections  occur  to  any 
thinking  man,  who  feels  as  I  do?  But  we 
ought  not  to  be  timid,  facing  so  great  and 
high  a  goal.  Let  us  begin  with  short  steps, 
and  the  total  accomplishment  will  become 
easy. 


I  was  just  thinking  that  a  couple  of 
hundred  years  ago  the  persons  who  per- 
formed military  service  for  a  big  state  or  a 
small  state,  or  for  some  potentate,  were  a 
motley  lot,  so  far  as  nationality  is  concerned. 
In  this  respect  the  nobility  was  especially 
internationalized.  Peoples  and  countries 
were  cut  up,  distributed,  joined  together, 
transformed  by  colonization  and  remodeled 
according  to  the  whims,  necessities,  or  bar- 
gaining habits  of  princes.  How  could  the 
burdensome  system  of  universal  military 
service  ever  have  sprung  from  this  old  free- 
lance arrangement,  and  this  blundering  work 
of  state  building  be  considered  sacrosanct 


2IO         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

and  left  unmolested  in  the  form  to  which 
it  had  hardened  down! 


We  are  surprised  at  the  official  report 
that  the  French  have  abandoned  Rheims 
without  offering  resistance  and  are  every- 
where retreating  before  the  German  ad- 
vance from  the  North.  Enormous  booty 
— too  great  to  be  counted.  I  presiune  that 
France  wants  to  spare  her  fortified  towns 
useless  suffering,  and  therefore  surrenders 
them.  But  I  should  think  that  the  French 
are  playing  too  much  into  the  hands  of  the 
Germans,  the  pace  of  whose  advance,  rapid 
enough  without  that,  they  are  plainly  accel- 
erating. Everybody  had  believed  that  the 
French  would  stubbornly  defend  their  so- 
called  second  line  of  fortresses  :  Rheims — 
Laon — La  Fere.  Now  the  way  to  Paris  lies 
open. 

Endeavoring  to  find  a  suitable  explana- 
tion for  this,  I  recall  having  read  that  some 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         211 

of  the  French  commanders  wanted  to  have 
the  Germans  occupy  Belgium  and  a  large 
part  of  France  before  a  decisive  battle 
should  be  fought.  The  German  forces 
would  be  dispersed  through  so  extensive 
an  occupation  and  would  succumb  to  a 
French  counter-offensive  more  easily  than 
if  they  were  able  to  fall  at  once,  with  their 
vastly  superior  strength,  on  the  French 
army. 

This  may  be  reasonable.  But  a  German 
occupation  will  be  very  oppressive  to  France 
and  still  greater  misery  will  be  caused  by 
attempts  to  expel  the  Germans. 

September  5th. 
Two  Turkish  officers  came  to  see  me  to- 
day. They  were  very  well  satisfied  to  have 
a  world-war,  because  it  would  bring  back  to 
Turkey  her  former  domination  over  Islam. 
According  to  their  views  everything  is  go- 
ing most  favorably.  The  Porte  is  at  one 
with    Germany    and    merely    awaits    the 


212         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

signal  to  strike.  The  Turkish  fleet,  under 
German  leadership,  will  presently  begin 
operations  in  the  Black  Sea.  Big  Turkish 
transports  have  been  going  for  some  time 
to  Trebizond,  without  any  hindrance.  Very 
soon  Russian  Armenia  and  all  the  territories 
up  to  and  across  the  Caucausus  will  be  freed 
from  Russian  rule.  Negotiations  have  been 
begun  with  Persia,  Afghanistan,  and  the 
Mohammedan  population  in  India. 

An  agreement  has  been  consummated 
with  the  Arabian  Sheiks,  who,  at  a  nod  from 
the  Caliph,  will  invade  the  English  depen- 
dencies. In  Damascus  an  army  is  being 
organized  which  is  to  march  into  Egypt. 
A  general  uprising  in  all  countries  which 
have  a  religious  connection  with  Turkey 
will  overthrow  the  power  of  the  Russians 
and  of  the  English.  Turkey  does  not  intend 
to  take  the  initiative  against  Greece.  But 
an  army  under  Liman  Pasha  is  to  remain  in 
Europe.  Even  if  it  does  not  come  to  the 
point  of  a  conflict  with  Greece,  Germany  will 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         213 

see  to  it  that  Greece  restores  the  Islands 
of  the  ^gean. 

It  all  comes  back  to  Germany!  She  is  to 
show  herself  the  true  friend,  the  savior  of 
Turkey,  the  deliverer  of  the  Mohammedan 
world ! 

I  was  in  Constantinople  twice  last  spring 
and  I  scarcely  trusted  my  ears,  suddenly  to 
encounter  such  charming  amiability.  Ger- 
many deprives  herself  of  costly  war  m>aterial 
and  sends  it  in  enormous  railroad  trains — 
via  Rumania  and  Bulgaria — to  Constan- 
tinople.   That  creates  friendship. 

The  negotiations  between  Turkey,  Bul- 
garia, and  Rumania,  my  Turkish  guests 
continued,  have  produced  valuable  results. 
There  is  a  common  understanding,  first  of 
all,  to  remain  neutral.  But  if  the  inter- 
ests of  any  one  of  these  three  states  induce  it 
to  enter  the  war,  the  two  others  will  main- 
tain neutrality  toward  this  neighbor  belliger- 
ent. Consequently  noone  of  them  need 
fear  that  one  of  the  others  will  attack  it  from 


214         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

the  rear.  Relations  between  Turkey  and 
Bulgaria  are  already  so  cordial  that  one  may 
confidently  expect  that  these  two  countries 
will  be  drawn  into  the  war  on  the  same  side 
and  at  the  same  time. 

I  seriously  question  the  attitude  im- 
puted to  Rumania,  the  proud  guarantor 
of  the  Treaty  of  Bucharert,  toward  Bul- 
garia. But  otherwise  the  picture  drawn  by 
these  two  highly  pleased  Turks  may  be 
accepted  as  correct.  In  passing  it  should  be 
said  that  they  themselves  are  here  in  Ger- 
many awaiting  an  extension  of  the  world 
war.  They  are  on  a  mission  to  the  German 
Government. 


Once  more  a  conversation  over  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  booty  after  the  war.  It 
occurred  in  a  most  intimate  circle  of  the 
most  distinguished  Iron  and  Steel  "Robber 
Barons."  I  still  quiver  with  shame.  These 
modem  German  industrials  are  nauseating. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         215 

If  the  English  have  pursued  the  politics  of  a 
nation  of  traders,  then  the  Germans,  accord- 
ing to  the  view  of  the  masters  of  the  iron 
and  steel  industry,  must  outdo  them  in  im- 
blushing  spoliation.  Even  foreign  private 
property  must  not  be  spared,  in  so  far  as 
coal  and  iron  deposits  and  great  factories 
and  enterprises  are  concerned. 

One  gentleman  argued  very  earnestly 
that  Germany  should  immediately  annex 
Belgiimi,  as  Italy  recently  annexed  Tripoli, 
in  order  that  the  Belgian  problem  should  be 
excluded  entirely  from  future  peace  negotia- 
tions. At  the  same  time  he  favored  an  un- 
qualified and  very  extensive  appropriation 
of  all  big  industrial  and  other  private  es- 
tablishments. In  the  terms  of  peace  France 
should  be  obliged  to  assimie  the  obliga- 
tion of  indemnifying  those  who  had  been 
despoiled. 

Moreover,  we  should  not  repeat  the 
blunder  of  1870  in  Alsace-Lorraine,  where 
we  allowed  the  prominent  personages  who 


2i6         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

are  now  chiefly  pro-French  to  remain  in  the 
conquered  country.  This  time  all  the  most 
influential  elements  in  the  annexed  territory 
should  be  obliged  to  emigrate  immediately, 
if  they  did  not  adjust  themselves  uncondi- 
tionally to  the  new  order  of  things. 

This  speaker  strongly  emphasized  the 
fact  that  his  industrial  colleagues,  like 
Thyssen,  Stinnes,  and  Kirdorf,  were  using 
all  their  influence  to  put  through  the  drastic 
policy  outlined  by  him.  These  gentlemen 
had  already  taken  steps  with  the  Imperial 
Chancellor  to  have  an  industrial  expert 
attached  to  the  German  Government  in 
Belgiimi,  who  should  inspect  all  industrial 
establishments  and  inquire  into  all  industrial 
values  in  Belgiimi  and  note  what  Germany 
could  use  for  herself. 

The  enthusiasm  shown  by  his  friends  and 
colleagues  induced  the  shark  whose  remarks 
I  have  been  reporting  to  present  the  follow- 
ing proposal:  namely,  to  make  a  hurried 
effort   with   the    Imperial    Chancellery   to 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         217 

procure  the  appointment  as  industrial  ex- 
pert in  Belgium  of  a  gentleman  belonging 
to  this  shark's  own  concern,  and  thereby 
secure  a  special  interest  in  the  firm  of  Cock- 
erill,  in  Seraing.  In  order  to  prevent  the 
possibility  of  any  further  competition  from 
Cockerill  it  should  be  agreed  secretly  to 
acquire  control  of  a  majority  of  the  stock  of 
that  concern.  To  cover  over  this  interest, 
which  was  concerned  chiefly  with  Cocker- 
ill's  munition  works,  a  gentleman  having  no 
connection  with  the  manufacture  of  war 
material  should  be  selected  to  explore  the 
terrain. 

Of  course  they  serve  this  dish  of  genuine 
patriotism  with  trimmings  of  various  sorts. 
It  was  said,  for  instance,  that  in  order  that 
the  great  sacrifices  of  our  people  shall  not 
go  for  nothing,  we  must  seize  as  much  terri- 
tory and  as  much  private  property  as  we 
can  hope  to  be  able  to  digest.  It  is  also 
highly  necessary  to  occupy  the  imagination 
of  our  people  after  the  war  with  the  evi- 


2i8         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

dences  of  our  enormous  territorial  expan- 
sion and  of  our  enrichment  in  other  ways, 
as  well  as  with  the  opportunities  arising 
through  these  spoliations.  Only  thus  can 
the  people  be  diverted  from  their  desire  for 
so-called  ' '  internal  reforms. ' '  If  this  doesn't 
happen,  then  conditions  with  us  will  be 
worse  after  the  war  than  they  were  before. 
There  were  some  contrary  opinions,  how- 
ever. Our  experience,  one  doubter  said,  has 
taught  us  that  we  are  not  in  a  position  to 
assimilate  alien  peoples.  We  should  content 
ourselves  both  in  the  East  and  in  the  West 
with  that  increase  in  territory  which  our 
strategic  and  economic  interests  seem  to 
require.  As  an  offset,  we  should  by  eco- 
nomic penetration  make  France,  Belgium, 
and  Holland  dependent  on  us,  should  assure 
ourselves  of  one-sided  advantages  through 
customs  treaties,  should  demand  the  French 
iron  deposits  which  lie  along  the  border  as  a 
part  of  our  war  indemnity,  and  should,  of 
course,  proceed  vigorously  with  expropria- 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         219 

tions  and  expulsions  in  all  the  annexed 
territory.  The  war  indemnity  must  go  as 
high  as  50,000,000,000  marks  and  must 
this  time  not  be  paid  (as  was  the  case  in 
1870)  in  drafts,  but  in  merchandise,  real 
estate,  and  mineral  deposits,  which  are 
worth  much  more  to  us.  In  this  way  the 
really  important  result  would  be  obtained 
that,  just  as  in  Belgium,  no  powerful  iron 
industry  should  ever  be  able  to  develop 
again  in  France. 

Another  cautiously  questioned  whether 
the  state  could  set  such  an  example  of 
robbery,  without  injuring  the  morals  of  the 
people.  He  therefore  recommended  a  solu- 
tion which  would  leave  private  property 
untouched  in  the  hands  of  the  conquered, 
but  would  incorporate  the  territory  in  which 
it  exists  into  the  Prussian  state,  but  not  into 
the  German  Empire,  so  that  we  should  never 
again  have  to  face  conditions  such  as  exist 
in  the  Alsace-Lorraine  Reichsland.  The 
population  of  annexed  areas  would,  indeed, 


220         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

be  a  hard  nut  to  crack,  for  it  would  be  in- 
tractable and  not  accustomed  to  a  strong 
government.  Tractability  and  obedience 
would  have  to  be  instilled  into  it. 

All  agreed  with  him  in  this  and  also  in  his 
suggestion  that  after  the  war  the  German 
people  should  be  encouraged  as  a  holy  duty 
to  bring  as  many  children  into  the  world  as 
possible,  to  whom  would  fall  the  heritage 
of  these  inferior,  subject  peoples. 

There  was  nothing  in  their  conversation 
or  in  their  thoughts  but  force,  material 
wealth,  new  territory  to  develop,  discipline 
and  methods  of  exploitation.  No  idea 
which  would  justify  an  extension  of  German 
rule,  no  benefits  and  no  consideration  to  be 
bestowed  on  the  conquered.  In  short,  no 
magnanimity.  They  want  to  lie  in  the  beds 
of  other  people  and  don't  mind  being  called 
barbarians  for  wanting  to  do  so.  They 
haven't  the  least  ambition  to  win  over  other 
peoples  by  moral  suasion. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         221 

Maeterlinck,  Wells,  Shaw,  J.  K.  Jerome, 
and  other  authors  have  felt  themselves 
impelled  since  the  beginning  of  the  war 
to  come  out  openly  against  Germany 
just  as  many  of  our  literary  lights,  for  ex- 
ample, Gerhart  Hauptmann,  have  publicly 
defended  the  justice  of  Germany's  cause. 
The  manner  in  which  the  German  press 
reacts  to  this  foreign  criticism  is  a  hor- 
rid example  of  the  German  mode  of  thought. 
The  press  calls  these  foreigners  ingrates 
and  traitors,  because  they  are  alleged  to 
have  become  rich  and  famous  through  the 
early  favor  of  German  readers.  As  if  that 
bound  them  to  conform  their  thought  to 
present  tendencies  in  Germany!  Whose 
bread  I  eat,  his  praise  I  sing!  It  is  shame- 
ful to  demand  such  a  surrender  from  intel- 
lectual leaders,  since  their  value  and  their 
ability  to  benefit  others  flow  from  their 
intellectual  independence. 

Now  we  read  that  a  league  has  been 
formed    of    German    critics    who    obligate 


222         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

themselves  in  the  future  not  to  criticize 
or  to  mention  in  any  way  French,  English, 
or  Russian  authors.  These  are  to  remain 
imknown  to  German  readers. 

The  narrowness  and  harmfulness  of  this 
resolution  are  bad  enough.  But  it  is 
worse  to  realize  that  Germans  of  this 
kind  enjoy  no  real  respect  in  the  world 
of  intellect.  For  them  it  is  simply  a  ques- 
tion of  political  expediency,  of  the  police 
power,  whether  an  idea  may  be  expressed 
or  not,  no  matter  whether  it  has  value  or 
lacks  it.  The  League  of  Critics  says  ex- 
pressly that  it  will  exempt  scientific  works 
from  its  boycott;  that  it  has  no  intention 
of  depreciating  the  scientific  efforts  of 
foreign  nations.  Apparently  it  believes  that 
it  depends  on  it  whether  this  branch  of 
intellectual  effort  shall  be  disowned  and 
that,  if  it  is  disowned,  it  will  then  (for  the 
Germans)  become  non-existent. 

Other  bounders  in  the  press  do  not  stop 
even  at  science.     No  foreigner  ought  here- 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         223 

after  to  be  allowed  to  do  scientific  work 
at  German  universities.  Fierce  reproaches 
and  threats  are  hurled  at  certain  university 
professors,  particularly  those  of  the  medical 
faculties,  because  they  collaborate  with 
foreign  savants.  All  posts  which  science 
has  to  distribute  are  to  be  reserved  for 
Germans.  Everywhere  and  under  all  cir- 
cumstances it  must  be  seen  to  that  no  for- 
eigner occupies  a  position  which  a  German 
substitute  could  fill.  It  doesn't  make  any 
difference  whether  the  German  can  do  as 
well  as  the  foreigner.  With  these  raging 
barbarians  progress  and  humanity  count 
for  nothing  any  more.  Brutal  force,  not 
intellect;  mass,  not  quality,  are  the  deciding 
factors.  What  a  filthy  stable  Germany 
has  become!     Who  will  cleanse  it? 


The  present  powers-that-be  show  great 
respect  for  Catholicism,  although  they  hate 
it.     They  see  in  it  an  enormous  mass  and, 


224         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

consequently,  a  factor  in  military  power. 
They  are  sounding  out  the  new  Pope  with 
great  expectations,  because  he  is  supposed 
to  be  a  political  Pope,  not  a  religious  one, 
like  his  predecessor.  In  the  highest  circles 
in  Berlin  it  is  whispered  that  the  Pope  has 
a  level  head  and  that  his  personal  predilec- 
tion for  everything  French  will  not  affect 
his  judgment  in  political  matters.  These 
German  clowns  believe  in  all  seriousness 
that  they  will  be  able  to  induce  him  to 
take  Germany's  side  against  France  and 
Belgium,  and  they  have  hastened  to  put 
out  feelers.     For  first  come,  first  served. 

A  gentleman  high  in  the  Protestant  faith 
said  to  me  with  indescribable  emphasis 
that  the  Pope  is  now  worth  more  to  Ger- 
many than  any  single  Great  Power;  above 
all  things  the  present  Pope,  whom  he  used 
to  know  as  a  Cardinal.  Also  in  domestic 
politics  the  Catholic  Church  has  become 
a  most  important  influence  in  Germany; 
that  is  to  say,  the  Centrum  party  has — not 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         225 

only  because  the  Catholics  can  assure  a  de- 
cision on  measures  of  consequence  by  virtue 
of  their  strength  in  the  Reichstag,  but  also 
because  they  are  expected  to  approve  of  the 
annexation  of  Western  Catholic  countries. 
In  fact,  there  are  in  the  Centrum  some 
vicious  self-seekers  who  want  to  play  the 
role  of  pioneers  in  the  molding  of  Ger- 
man purposes  with  regard  to  Belgium,  etc., 
because  they  want  to  be  somebodies  at 
any  cost.  But  more  about  this  on  an- 
other occasion. 

September  6th. 
My  first  railroad  trip  since  the  beginning 
of  the  war.  A  long,  greatly  overcrowded 
express  train,  most  of  the  cars  filled  with 
wounded;  a  private  car  for  an  Austrian 
general  and  an  American  mission;  also  a 
car  with  eighty  field  nurses.  The  train 
stops  very  frequently  and  at  all  stations 
the  relief  service  for  wounded  and  un- 
woimded  soldiers  is  much  in  evidence,  its 

IS 


226         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

representatives  offering  food,  drink,  and 
tobacco  to  all  those  in  uniform. 

Most  of  the  soldiers  whom  I  saw  in  my 
first  class  section  belonged  to  the  older  mili- 
tary classes,  and  since  they  have  not  yet 
been  in  battle  appeared  to  be  not  entirely 
accustomed  to  their  conversion  into  heroes 
and  to  the  noisy  honors  paid  to  them.  Per- 
haps they  were  also  busy  with  their  own 
thoughts.  At  any  rate  they  sat  firmly  in 
their  seats  of  honor  and  cast  their  eyes  calmly 
on  two  families,  rich  in  children,  standing 
in  the  passageway  before  them,  which  had 
come  out  of  Holland  and  before  that  had 
been  in  Belgium.  I  was  also  standing. 
These  dirty  Landwehr  men  caused  me  a 
certain  sort  of  embarrassment,  as  though  we 
better-clothed  persons  had  demanded  some- 
thing unjust  of  them. 

But  there  was  a  soldier  among  them  who 
had  been  in  the  field,  had  received  a  slight 
wound,  appeared  to  be  of  exceptional  intel- 
ligence, spoke  very  correctly,  and  according 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         22'] 

to  his  story  had  long  had  a  position  in 
England.  What  this  person  told  the  Land- 
wehr people  was  all  a  shameful  fabrication. 
I  found  my  opinion  about  the  worthless- 
ness  of  soldiers'  letters  and  soldiers'  tales 
as  testimony  fully  confirmed. 

This  man  declared  to  his  audience  that 
the  42 -centimeter  guns  (which,  according 
to  his  own  statement,  he  never  could  have 
seen,  otherwise  he  would  not  have  said 
what  he  did  say)  were  fired  from  a  distance 
of  several  kilometers  by  wireless  telegraph. 
Then  he  described  the  assault  on  Namur 
by  his  detachment,  which  in  spite  of  the 
fierce  fire  of  the  francs-tireurs  had  swum 
across  the  river  and  penetrated  into  the 
city.  Details  of  his  account  showed  clearly 
that  he  took  every  man  in  Belgium,  includ- 
ing everybody  in  uniform  or  out  of  it,  for 
a  franc-tireur.  He  boasted  to  his  hearers 
that  he  and  his  comrades,  as  soon  as  a 
single  shot  was  fired  from  a  village,  had, 
without  any  further  investigation,  set  fire 


228         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

to  the  dwelUng  houses  and  had  destroyed 
every  human  being  m  the  neighborhood. 

Moreover,  it  struck  me  that  he  retailed 
almost  every  one  of  the  sensational  stories 
in  the  newspapers  as  an  experience  which 
either  he  or  acquaintances  in  his  battalion 
had  had.  Thus  he  described  the  frightful 
effects  of  the  dum-dum  bullets  exactly  as 
they  had  been  described  in  the  newspapers. 
Further,  he  told  about  the  wire  cables 
which  the  Belgians  had  strung  around  Na- 
mur  and  charged  with  electricity,  and  how  his 
comrades  who  ran  against  them  were  killed 
like  flies.  All  this  was  related  in  a  tone 
which  tolerated  no  contradiction — in  the 
tone  of  a  man  who  had  seen  frightful  things 
and  now  lives  in  an  atmosphere  far  beyond 
and  above  our  own. 

Can  one  say  that  this  fellow  is  an  excep- 
tion? Or  does  experience  rather  show  us 
that  the  memory,  the  power  to  make  dis- 
tinctions between  personal  experiences  and 
what  one  has  heard  told  or  has  read,  the 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         229 

moral  power  to  stick  to  the  naked  truth 
are  extraordinarily  weakened  in  the  case 
of  almost  all  men — the  educated  not  ex- 
cluded— who  have  been  face  to  face  with 
terrible  events?  I  deduce  from  this  that 
most  men,  even  in  normal  times,  talk  very 
loosely  and  irresponsibly. 

On  the  testimony  of  people  like  these  the 
most  shocking  charges  against  the  enemy's 
conduct  of  the  war  are  based.  Their  let- 
ters from  the  front,  which  teem  with  tales 
of  heroic  deeds,  or  to  put  it  otherwise,  with 
barbaric  simplicity,  are  sought  for  and 
published  as  documents  for  the  use  of  the 
future  analysts  of  campaigns.  For  this 
latter  literary  use  I  should  gladly  contribute 
a  summary  of  the  statements  of  this  parti- 
cipant in  the  Belgian  campaign.  The  con- 
fusion in  these  simple  soldiers'  minds  works 
most  injuriously  to  the  poor  inhabitants  of 
an  enemy  country,  who  become  the  inno- 
cent victims  of  countless  misunderstandings 
and  preconceptions. 


230         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

Evening  in  Berlin.  A  vast  crowd  salutes 
the  incoming  train  with  "Hochs"  and 
"Hurrahs"  and  begins  to  sing  Die  Wacht 
am  Rhein.  A  lively  waving  of  handkerchiefs 
by  elegant  ladies.  More  people  than  usual 
in  the  streets,  peering  at  the  bulletins  on 
the  kiosks.  At  the  hotels  very  many  fami- 
lies of  the  country  nobility,  sitting  together 
and  engaged  in  intimate  conversation.  The 
ladies  knitted  stockings;  the  gentlemen 
shouted  questions  to  one  another  about 
events  at  the  front.     Nothing  else  in  Berlin. 

September  8th. 
On  the  journey  from  Berlin  to  Dresden 
the  train  runs  past  a  big  prisoners'  camp. 
It  is  a  piece  of  meadow  land,  fenced  in  with 
wire.  The  erection  of  barracks  and  tents 
is  not  yet  completed.  Many  soldiers  in 
red  trousers  and  blue  coats  stand  aroimd 
or  lie  on  the  thin  grass.  Beyond  a  tent 
cover  or  two  there  seem  to  be  no  arrange- 
ments for  their  protection  and  care.     One 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         231 

was  strikingly  reminded  of  a  zoological 
garden. 

In  Dresden  they  told  me  something  more 
definite  about  another  camp  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, where  fourteen  thousand  prisoners 
were  collected.  They  sleep  by  threes  in  a 
horse's  stall,  on  straw;  there  is  no  artificial 
light  available;  the  poor  people  must  crawl 
to  bed  as  soon  as  it  gets  dark.  Their  pro- 
visioning is  entrusted  to  a  contractor,  who 
for  sixty  pfennigs  a  day  per  head  furnishes 
coffee  in  the  morning;  potatoes  and  rice, 
sometimes  a  piece  of  meat,  at  noon,  and  in 
the  evening  soup.  If  any  one  has  money, 
he  can  buy  something  additional  in  a  can- 
teen; but  no  alcohol.  As  a  rule  the  French- 
men had  plenty  of  money  with  them;  the 
Russians  averaged  not  more  than  a  couple 
of  roubles.  The  Frenchmen  are  well  fed 
and  respectable  in  appearance.  The  Rus- 
sians look  like  starving  beasts. 

The  fall  of  Maubeuge,  with  40,000  pris- 
oners, is  announced. 


232         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

September  9th. 

In  Vienna.  General  feeling  very  con- 
fident, in  spite  of  the  retreat  near  Lemberg 
and  in  spite  of  the  second  battle  in  that 
neighborhood  now  in  progress.  Extra- 
ordinary enthusiasm  over  the  rapid  pro- 
gress of  the  Germans  in  the  West.  Great 
expectations  of  German  aid  against  the 
Russians.  If  hospital  autos  were  not  driv- 
ing through  all  sections  of  the  city  in  wild 
haste  and  with  shrill  whistling;  if  all  the 
streets  were  not  swarming  with  officers  and 
soldiers,  one  could  here  many  times  forget 
the  war.  In  the  hotels  there  was  a  very 
mixed  international  public.  French  was 
spoken  freely  and  without  any  feeling  of 
embarrassment,  which  would  no  longer  be 
allowed  in  any  Berlin  hotel  of  the  first 
class,  provided  that  there  were  still  foreign- 
ers in  Berlin. 

I  had  a  conversation  with  some  Ruma- 
nians. They  assured  me  that  a  participa- 
tion of  Rumania  in  the  war  on  the  same 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         233 

side  with  Austria- Hungary  is  not  to  be 
expected.  King  Charles  had  sought  to 
bring  about  an  adhesion  of  Rumania  from 
the  start,  but  had  been  able  to  find  no  min- 
istry willing  to  stand  for  such  a  policy. 
Popular  feeling  in  the  country  was  all  for 
the  French;  even  the  Russians  were  not 
thought  of  so  badly  any  longer.  A  genu- 
ine hatred  of  Hungary  inspired  all  classes 
of  society.  The  eyes  of  the  Rumanians 
were  turned,  not  in  the  direction  of  Bessara- 
bia, but  in  the  direction  of  Siebenbürgen 
and  the  Bukowina.  Moreover  Russia  would 
give  back  Bessarabia.  Still  they  hesitated  to 
enter  into  very  close  relations  with  Russia. 
To  take  sides  with  neither  party  is  the 
policy  which  is  being  followed  just  now 
in  Rumania.  But  the  entire  country  would 
rise  against  anyone  who  should  try  to  bring 
it  over  to  the  side  of  Austria-Hungary.  A 
renewal  of  the  alliance  with  Germany  would 
be  possible  only  if  Rumania  had  to  do  with 
an  entirely  different  Austria  and  an  entirely 


234         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

different  Hungary.  There  was  no  doubt 
whatever  among  the  Rumanians  that  the 
Dual  Monarchy  would  not  now  willingly 
make  concessions  of  any  consequence  for 
their  benefit.  Rumania  would  much  rather 
wait;  since  to  take  sides  now  would  mean 
to  invite  an  invasion  of  enemy  troops  and 
the  shifting  of  a  large  portion  of  the  theater 
of  war  to  Rumania. 

The  attitude  of  Italy  had  made  a  great 
impression  in  Rumania.  According  to  what 
I  heard  on  this  occasion,  we  can  count 
stirely  and  for  a  long  time  on  Rumania's 
neutrality.  She  will  show  her  colors  very 
late,  if  at  all.  The  eventual  declaration 
of  war  by  Turkey  against  Russia,  she  will 
take  very  calmly,  so  long  as  the  fighting 
occurs  in  Asia.  I  would  also  like  to  believe 
that  Rimiania  will  remain  tranquil,  if  Bul- 
garia moves  against  Serbia,  although  she 
herself  doesn't  know  to-day  to  what  action 
a  renewal  of  general  turmoil  in  the  Balkans 
may  force  her. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         235 

Rumania's  attitude  was  completely  intel- 
ligible to  the  Austrians  with  whom  I  talked. 
In  their  view  Austria-Hungary  had  made 
many  political  blunders  in  dealing  with  the 
Rumanians.  But  Hungary  was  to  blame 
for  all  that.  They  talk  here  bitterly  about 
Hungary. 

As  a  matter  of  Vienna  local  color,  the 
following  little  episode  is  worth  relating. 
When  a  portly  feld-webel,  decked  out  with 
orders,  graciously  saluted  us,  I  asked  my 
Austrian  companion  how  it  happened  that 
so  typical  a  Viennese  was  wearing  a  Turkish 
fez  ?     The  answer  was : 

"He  belongs  to  the  Landwehr.  When 
the  caps  provided  for  in  the  regulations  ran 
short  at  the  depot,  they  gave  the  soldiers 
fezes,  or  anything  else  they  had  on  hand.  He 
has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  Bosnia." 

Imagine  a  Prussian  without  the  military 
headpiece  which  he  ought  to  wear!  He 
would  die  of  shame  or  otherwise  make  an 
end  of  himself. 


236         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

September  loth. 
It  is  announced  that  the  second  battle 
near  Lemberg  has  been  lost.  The  Austrian 
armies  covering  Lemberg  and  Lublin  have 
been  withdrawn  into  a  secure  position,  in 
order  to  be  re-grouped  and  strengthened. 
The  irresistible  Austro-Hungarian  offensive, 
of  which  there  was  so  much  talk,  is  over. 
Fewer  boastful  speeches  and  fewer  violent 
threats  against  prospective  conquered  na- 
tions show  me  quite  clearly  during  the 
pause  which  I  am  making  in  Berlin  on  my 
journey  home,  how  quickly  people  can 
become  humble.  They  also  show,  unfor- 
tunately, that  only  reverses,  and  not  so- 
called  higher  perceptions,  hold  out  any 
promise  of  the  reformation  of  Prussia. 

September  24th, 

I  have  made  no  entries  for  some  time.     I 

could  almost  wish  not  to  make  any  more. 

To  act  is  more  important  than  to  write. 

But  I  don't  know  just  how  to  act.     In  any 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         237 

case  I  am  making  preparations  to  set  up 
for  myself  and  to  quit  suddenly  and  forever 
my  present  position  and  my  daily  work, 
from  which  I  have  long,  but  up  to  now 
vainly,  desired  to  free  myself. 

What  a  change  in  the  situation  has  oc- 
curred in  the  Western  War  theater!  A 
strong  French  coimter-offensive  has  driven 
back  the  German  armies,  which  were  al- 
ready on  the  outskirts  of  Paris.  Apparently 
a  gap  had  been  created  between  portions 
of  the  German  forces  pushing  on  too  vio- 
lently and  too  self-confidently,  and  the 
enemy  almost  succeeded  in  breaking  through 
and  in  cutting  off  and  enveloping  a  part 
of  our  troops.  This  peril  has  been  averted 
at  the  cost  of  severe  fighting  and  great 
losses.  Only  north  of  Rheims  did  the 
German  retirement  come  to  an  end.  An 
indecisive  battle  has  been  raging  there  for 
several  days.  Many  German  troops  have 
been  drawn  from  Alsace-Lorraine  and  dis- 
patched to  the  north  of  France,  in  conse- 


238         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

quence  of  which  the  French  have  again 
crossed  into  Alsace-Lorraine  at  various 
points. 

We  hear  nothing  more  of  the  bombard- 
ment of  Nancy,  about  which  whispers  had 
been  going  around.  The  Crown  Prince  of 
Prussia  stands  in  the  region  of  Verdun, 
which  has  not  yet  fallen.  According  to 
program  the  forts  defending  Verdun  will 
gradually  be  reduced  by  heavy  artillery. 
Taken  all  in  all,  it  no  longer  looks  as  if  the 
Germans  would  spread  over  France  easily 
— to  waltz  music,  as  it  were.  The  losses 
on  both  sides  must  have  been  frightful. 

Nothing  more  is  heard  from  the  Eastern 
War  theater  since  Hindenburg's  imposing 
victory. 

The  soundness  of  my  opinion  that  with 
otir  invasion  of  Belgium  we  committed 
not  only  an  act  of  treachery  and  of  brutal- 
ity, but  also  an  act  of  folly,  seems  to  me 
to  be  confirmed.  If  the  Germans  had 
assumed  the  defensive  against  France  and 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  239 

had  thrown  their  main  strength  against 
Russia,  they  would  have  been  in  a  better 
position  from  the  military  point-of-view. 
But  if  it  was  believed  that  we  must  make 
an  offensive  against  France,  then,  as  one 
sees  to-day,  a  direct  and  honorable  attack 
launched  against  the  French  eastern  fron- 
tier would  have  been  safer  than  the  move- 
ment across  Belgium. 

From  the  fact  that  some  of  our  heaviest 
guns  have  been  taken  from  Lorraine  to 
Belgium,  an  expert,  who  is  an  acquaintance 
of  mine,  concludes  that  the  Germans  either 
wish  to  attempt,  or  have  been  forced  to 
attempt,  the  reduction  of  Antwerp. 

September  25th. 
The  mania  of  the  German  press  has  be- 
come revolting.  One  must  avoid  many 
columns  of  their  contents  as  he  avoids  mud 
puddles.  I  cast  a  rapid  glance  of  disgust 
at  some  newspapers,  like  one  who  notices 
each  day  that  a  loathsome  reptile,  which  he 


240         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

cannot  kill,  is  still  in  the  same  place.  Yes, 
the  press  is  really  unanimous,  as  it  boasts 
of  being.  May  the  German  people  never 
suffer  under  the  accusation  that  what  the 
world  hears  these  days  is  the  free  speech 
of  the  people  through  its  own  spokesmen! 
The  fate  of  Germany  would  be  frightful, 
if  our  opponents,  in  case  of  victory,  should 
not  be  more  magnanimous  than  the  German 
press  is. 

Even  if  I  did  not  read  the  foreign  papers 
and  so  could  not  form  a  judgment  by  con- 
trast and  comparison,  I  should  still  recog- 
nize from  the  speech  of  the  German  news- 
papers that  our  degradation  is  the  deepest 
of  all.  I  certainly  do  not  forget  that  we 
are  in  a  state  of  siege,  and  that  every  criti- 
cism and  every  expression  of  opinion  not 
inspired  by  the  Government  is  suppressed 
with  draconic  severity.  But  the  newspapers, 
even  in  Germany,  could  not  be  compelled 
to  bellow.  They  could  be  silent  instead  of 
joining  in  inciting  hate. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         241 

They  do  not  do  this.  On  the  contrary, 
they  outdo  the  Government,  toward  which 
their  complacence  knows  no  limit.  Never 
will  the  German  press  be  able  to  lift  the 
burden  of  disgrace  with  which  it  has  laden 
itself  in  this  war.  After  the  war  we  must 
create  a  new  press.  The  press  of  to-day 
is  a  hideous  leper.  Germany  needs  a  new 
skin,  as  well  as  a  new  brain  and  a  new  heart. 

I  cannot  believe  that  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands who  have  read  the  papers  in  the  last 
week,  do  not  share  my  feelings.  What  I 
have  to  reproach  the  press  for  is  not  so 
much  its  ignorance,  its  philistinism,  its 
lack  of  taste,  its  arrogance,  and  its  rudeness 
as  its  fimdamental  falsity,  injustice,  wicked- 
ness, and  hatefulness.  I  give  some  examples. 

If  the  Belgian  question  is  discussed,  then 
German  "experts  and  former  friends"  have 
nothing  to  say  but  what  is  evil  and  insult- 
ing. The  Belgians  are  cowardly,  tricky, 
without    patriotism,     unmanageable,     dis- 

sentious.     The  King  is  a  foolish  weakling 
10 


242         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

and  stage  hero;  his  appeals  to  his  people 
are  falsifications  of  history,  couched  in 
hollow  phrases.  His  Minister  President  is 
an  imitator  of  the  French  and,  in  fact,  a 
real  Frenchman,  who  for  years  has  been 
plotting  treachery  against  Belgiimi,  in  order 
to  deliver  her  over  to  France.  The  Queen 
is  imworthy  of  her  ancestry,  because  she 
has  fled  to  England.  If  she  should  with- 
draw from  the  English  Court,  a  certain 
amount  of  sympathy  might  be  assured  her, 
since  the  Crown  Prince  of  Bavaria  is  her 
brother-in-law  and  the  Crown  Prince  of 
Prussia  was  her  friend. 

No  single  voice  is  raised  which  deplores 
the  tragic  fate  of  Belgiimi,  calls  her  mis- 
fortune undeserved,  concedes  her  any  good 
qualities,  pleads  for  mildness  and  charity, 
does  not  hold  her  whole  people  responsible 
for  the  excesses  of  individuals  and  does  not 
urge  that  she  be  dismembered  and  despoiled. 

No  voice  asks  for  serious  consideration  of 
the  question  whether  the  invasion  of  Bel- 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         243 

gium  was  justifiable,  unavoidable,  or  even 
advantageous.  No;  for  every  newspaper 
writer  assumes  without  proof  that  there  was 
no  other  way  out  but  to  ignore  Belgian 
sovereignty;  that  Belgium  had  already  aban- 
doned her  neutrality;  that  it  was  right  to 
make  her  lick  the  German  hand,  which  she 
had  bitten. 

The  state  of  siege  brings  many  kinds  of 
scoimdrels  into  the  foreground.  They  offer 
the  Government  their  pens  for  all  sorts  of 
foul  deeds,  as  bravos  offer  their  stilettos. 
The  picked  troops  of  this  infamous  army  of 
journalists  belong  to  three  classes.  They 
consist,  first,  of  disgustingly  stupid  officers 
on  the  retired  list,  who,  even  in  time  of  war, 
are  not  available  as  soldiers;  secondly,  of 
worthy  pastors,  who,  with  an  icy  soul  and 
a  good-natured  smile,  trumpet  forth  every 
base  deed  as  a  manifestation  of  German 
Protestant  heroism ;  and,  thirdly  (the  worst 
of  all) ,  of  numerous  modern  university  pro- 
fessors, who,  overladen  with  titles  and  dis- 


244         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

tinctions,  swimming  with  every  patriotic 
current,  are  either  mercenaries  or  bound- 
ers and  who,  outside  the  field  of  their  own 
specialties,  are  seeking,  not  clearness  and 
truth,  but  only  temporary  notoriety. 

This  highly  respectable  scum  of  three 
leading  Prussian  professions  wants  to  make 
history  by  lying ;  wants  to  create  historical 
sources  by  making  barefaced  assertions. 
Thus  it  comes  to  pass  that  to-day  one  is 
looked  upon  with  contempt  in  Germany, 
if  one  declares  that  it  is  unlikely,  or,  at  any 
rate,  not  proved  that  the  French  were  the 
first  to  march  into  Belgium  or  had  intended 
doing  so.  Yet  every  day  brings  to  anybody 
who  wants  to  see  new  proofs  that  France 
fully  respected  Belgian  neutrality.  But 
go  on  lying,  you  barbarians!  Truth  will 
hurl  you  into  the  abyss. 

The  press  abuses  France  no  less  vilely. 
Every  French  communique  is  false;  every 
French  statement  is  mere  manipulation  of 
phrases.     The  French  soldiers  fight  reluct- 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         245 

antly,  use  diim-dum  bullets,  ravage  and 
plunder,  commit  the  most  atrocious  crimes, 
and  flee  like  sheep  before  the  German  troops. 
The  financial  condition  of  the  country  is 
pitiable;  the  Government  is  powerless;  the 
generals  are  either  incompetent  or  are 
monarchists  and  are  at  odds  with  their 
English  colleagues. 

There  is  not  a  glimmer  of  reason  or  justice, 
which  moves  German  journalists  to  show 
honor  to  or  appreciation  of  the  enemy. 
Yet  occasionally  dignified  and  favorable 
comments  on  the  German  troops  reach  us 
from  France  and  the  German  press  reprints 
them  with  pride.  Still  this  example  does 
not  inspire  anyone  here  to  reciprocate, 
although  there  is  sufficient  occasion.  For 
in  this  war  the  French  official  statements 
have  always  told  the  truth,  plainly  and  un- 
reservedly, even  when  it  was  painful  to  do 
so.  While  the  Germans  are  ready  to  tell 
the  truth  only  so  long  as  they  are  winning 
victories. 


246         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

The  inferiority  of  the  German  press  is 
disclosed  most  shamefully  by  a  comparison 
with  the  English  press.  The  English  news- 
papers publish,  together  with  many  stupid 
and  spiteful  things,  a  great  deal  that  is  just 
and  is  complimentary  to  the  Germans. 
The  latter,  however,  publish  only  vulgar 
threats,  envious  abuse  and  nasty  criticism 
of  everything  that  is  English.  English 
utterances,  which  are  extravagantly  favor- 
able to  Germany,  are  referred  to  as  brave 
and  manly.  But  that  is  the  sum  total 
of  bravery  and  manliness  in  the  German 
press. 

As  to  what  our  newspapers  falsely  say 
about  the  Russians  and  the  Eastern  peoples, 
I  shall  be  silent.  Our  press  cannot  be  out- 
done even  in  those  countries.  It  is  in  line 
with  our  admirable  German  organization  to 
invent  every  day  a  new  revolution,  a  new 
indication  of  weakness,  discord,  and  dis- 
content, a  new  evidence  of  hypocrisy,  cor- 
ruption, and  perversion,  a  new  illumination 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  247 

of  the  methods  employed  by  the  other  side 
in  plotting  for  the  war.  It  is  in  line  with  Ger- 
man discipline  to  accept  as  true  whatever 
the  most  stupid  of  our  heroes  at  the  front 
writes  home  and  to  reject  as  false  anything 
that  an  enemy,  even  of  the  highest  reputa- 
tion, may  say.  To  cap  the  climax  of  its 
effrontery  the  German  press  offers  its 
bungling  fabrications  to  neutral  countries 
as  the  pure  truth  and  summons  them  to 
its  defense.  The  answer  of  the  neutral  press 
is  an  indignant  refusal.  It  justly  says  that 
we  offer  it  nothing  but  cheap  bombast  and 
self-glorification ;  that  we  ignore  or  comment 
spitefully  on  foreign  views  unless  they 
second  Germany's;  that  in  our  newspapers 
there  is  never  any  talk  of  himianity,  mo- 
deration, and  justice,  but  only  senseless 
accusations,  dire  threats,  and  demands 
that  no  consideration  or  mercy  be  shown 
the  enemy.  When  German  savants  send 
disgraceful  newspapers,  like  the  Leipziger 
Neuste  Nachrichten,  to  Swiss  professors  "in 


248         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

the  interest  of  truth, "  it  is  clearly  seen  how 
little  the  Germans  understand  what  Europe 
is  and  what  Europe  will  remain. 

The  German  Government  now  has  every- 
where agents  whose  mission  it  is,  not  to  con- 
vert the  newspapers  of  the  neutral  countries, 
but  to  corrupt  them,  in  order  to  get  their 
support.  No  one  in  Germany  believes  that 
there  is  a  more  effective  instrument  than 
corruption.  A  well-known  Catholic  Reichs- 
tag Deputy  also  renders  our  Government 
rascally  services  of  this  sort,  organized  on 
a  large  scale.  He  writes  articles  which 
are  then  spread  abroad  at  the  expense 
of  the  Government-  I  recall  one  of  his 
articles,  in  which  he  asserts,  without  trying 
to  furnish  any  proof,  that  the  French  in- 
tended to  violate  Swiss  neutrality;  that 
they  had  asked  Switzerland  to  allow  them 
a  free  passage  into  Germany,  and  had  been 
prevented  from  forcing  a  passage  only  by 
a  Swiss  mobilization  which  was  directed 
against  France  alone.     Anyone  who  doesn't 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         249 

believe  this  can  look  up  the  article  in  the 
Tag. 

As  I  have  said  before,  the  Germans  try- 
to  account  for  their  unpopularity  by  explain- 
ing that  they  have  not  yet  sufficiently 
debauched  the  foreign  press,  Mark  the 
word — debauched,  not  enlightened  or  edu- 
cated !  The  German  conception  of  the  rest 
of  the  world  is  very  simple !  And  our  world 
politics  is  conducted  on  this  same  simple 
basis.  What  was  beyond  the  skill  of  our 
diplomats  is  to  be  accomplished  by  the 
Golden  Ass. 

When  the  Foreign  Office  and  the  Military 
Administration  lack  channels  of  their  own 
they  go  to  the  big  business  firms  and  inquire 
whether  the  latter  have  confidential  agents 
abroad  who  might  transmit  to  the  leading 
statesmen  the  millions  necessary  to  induce 
them  to  change  their  views.  In  doing  this 
it  is  assimied  as  a  matter  of  course  that  the 
Ministers  of  the  neutral  States — not  the 
press  alone — have  already  been  debauched 


250         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

by  the  other  side  and  that  it  is  only  a 
question  of  overcoming  competition.  We 
no  longer  seem  to  believe  it  possible  that 
any  statesman  would  resist  temptation  on 
a  sufficiently  impressive  scale  or  would 
prefer  to  follow  an  honorable,  uncoerced 
policy  dictated  by  the  best  interests  of 
his  country. 

I  could  tell  much  more  about  these  prac- 
tices, which  I  have  long  hated.  But  to-day 
I  only  want  to  give  expression  to  the  thought 
how  horrible  it  would  be  if,  because  of  vast 
sums  of  money  poured  into  the  pockets  of 
dishonest  public  servants,  whole  nations 
were  to  be  sacrificed  and,  so  to  speak, 
farmed  out  for  military  purposes.  Will 
there  ever  be  a  historian  who  will  inves- 
tigate these  matters  and  drag  them  out 
into  the  light? 

September  29th. 
For  weeks  nothing  but  laconic,  empty  re- 
ports from  the  theaters  of  war.     One  cannot 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         251 

form  an  idea  of  the  true  situation.  The  official 
bulletin  writers  have  gone  out  of  business, 
obviously  because  there  are  no  victories  to 
report.  The  Germans  are,  indeed,  a  good- 
natured  people,  bom  to  blind  obedience  and 
humble  willingness  to  let  others  do  their 
thinking  for  them.  Otherwise  they  would 
not  stand  this  long  silence,  interrupted  only 
by  a  few  contradictory,  fragmentary  out- 
givings. But  no  questions  are  asked.  In 
spite  of  the  public  uneasiness  no  one  dares 
to  do  that. 

That  things  are  not  cheerful  at  Grand 
Headquarters  I  have  learned  from  persons 
who  were  received  there  by  the  Kaiser. 
But  I  shall  not  go  into  the  dissensions  there. 
This  much  is  certain.  The  German  su- 
preme command,  perhaps  also  the  army 
commanders,  did  not  expect  any  serious 
resistance  on  the  part  of  the  French  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Paris,  and  were  hardly 
aware  of  the  presence  of  the  hostile  army 
which    suddenly    repulsed     them.       It    is 


252         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

significant  that  the  retreat  was  described  in 
our  official  announcements  as  a  temporary 
withdrawal  of  our  right  wing  near  Paris 
for  tactical  reasons. 

Innumerable  war  critics  have  explained  to 
us  with  a  knowing  smile  the  wonderful  trap 
which  has  been  thus  set  for  the  French .  The 
armies  on  the  Alsace-Lorraine  border  would 
attack  the  rear  of  the  French  armies  that 
had  pushed  north.  The  pompous  announce- 
ment of  the  bombardment  of  Nancy  in  the 
presence  of  the  Kaiser  also  seemed  to  sug- 
gest that,  in  the  hope  of  other  rapid  successes, 
they  wanted  to  present  the  retreat,  which 
was  a  necessity,  in  the  light  of  a  virtue.  But 
nothing  more  is  heard  of  Nancy.  True,  a 
frontier  fortress  (Camp  des  Romains)  has 
fallen.  But  so  far  a  real  passage  of  the 
Meuse  has  not  been  effected.  It  is  beyond 
doubt  that  our  present  front  in  France  is 
prescribed  for  us  by  the  French. 

Indications  are  increasing  that  after  a 
long  pause  a  campaign  will  be  made  against 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         253 

the  Russians.     Next  time  the  Austrians  and 
the  Germans  will  unite  their  forces. 


A  few  days  ago  the  commander-in-chief 
of  the  Mark  forbade  the  publication  of  the 
Social-Democratic  Vorwärts  until  further 
notice.  The  reason  given  for  this  action 
is  astonishing.  It  was  that  Vorwärts  had 
published  an  article  in  which  the  causes  of 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  were  discussed  and, 
despite  certain  reservations,  much  was  said 
in  justification  of  the  attitude  of  our  oppo- 
nents. Moreover,  the  innocence  of  the  Ger- 
man Government  was  established  only  in 
a  very  dubious  and  roundabout  manner. 
It  was  also  said  that  after  the  war  the  prole- 
tariat must  continue  to  fight  with  all  their 
power  for  the  progress  of  mankind  and  of 
humanity. 

When  one  of  the  greatest  German  news- 
papers is  suspended  outright,  without 
warning  and  without  a  preliminary  penalty, 


254         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

no  one  should  harbor  a  doubt  about  the 
disgrace  it  is  to  be  a  German  subject. 
What  would  await  us  if  the  war  should  end 
victoriously  and  a  new  spirit  would  begin 
to  stir!  Kicks  and  stones,  instead  of  bread; 
scorn  instead  of  gratitude  or  the  fulfillment 
of  promises  to  recognize  parties  no  longer! 
How  can  these  men  dare  to  point  again  and 
again  to  German  solidarity  and  unity  and 
thereby  make  the  German  people  respon- 
sible, in  the  eyes  of  the  enemy,  for  their 
own  incompetent  and  criminal  policies,  and 
at  the  same  time  expose  the  German  people 
to  universal  detestation,  when  in  all  Ger- 
many no  word  may  be  spoken  or  printed 
for  which  the  Government  has  not  given 
the  signal! 

As  I  recently  read.  Deputy  Liebknecht 
wanted  to  make  a  speech  in  Stuttgart  about 
the  annexation  hubbub.  A  very  just  and 
worthy  purpose,  in  view  of  the  crazy 
schemes  of  subjugation  which,  so  long  as  our 
first  victorious  advance  lasted,  were  flitting 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  255 

about  in  German  heads.  This  speech  was 
summarily  interdicted.  Anyone  who  wants 
to  know  what  political  freedom  amounted 
to  in  Germany  at  the  beginning  of  the 
twentieth  century  should  remember  such 
things.  Prussia — Russia:  what  is  the  differ- 
ence between  them  and  in  whose  favor  is 
this  difference? 


A  world-wide  commotion,  still  greater 
than  that  caused  by  the  burning  of  Lou  vain, 
was  excited  a  few  days  ago  by  the  news  that 
German  troops  had  bombarded  the  Cathe- 
dral of  Rheims,  and  had  destroyed  it  in 
great  part.  The  German  explanation  is 
that  an  observation  post  had  been  estab- 
lished in  the  church  tower.  The  French 
Government  denies  this.  At  all  events  we 
have  to  deal  here  again  with  one  of  those 
delusions  under  which  both  army  leaders 
and  soldiers  so  frequently  suffer.  If  the 
claim  of  the  Germans  was  true,  they  were 


256         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

nevertheless  far  from  excusable.  It  is  very 
symptomatic  that  the  Germans  are  persuad- 
ing themselves  that  if  the  French  had  come 
to  Cologne  they  would  have  reduced  the 
Cologne  Cathedral  to  ashes. 


A  war  correspondent  has  been  telling  in 
a  newspaper  about  the  naive  hopes  which 
the  soldiers  pin  on  the  personality  of  old 
General  Haeseler,  of  whom  they  expect 
something  absolutely  extraordinary.  They 
have  spread  rumors  that  he  has  disappeared 
somewhere  with  forty  thousand  men,  has 
had  underground  passages  dug  toward  a 
great  fortress,  and  will  suddenly  appear  with 
his  men  inside  the  fortress. 

The  condescending  correspondent  deduces 
from  this  that  Haeseler  has  already  become 
in  his  lifetime  a  supernatural,  Saga  figure. 
I  shake  my  head  at  the  simplicity  of  our 
soldiers  and  recall  having  read  not  long 
ago  that  the  aged  Haeseler,  who,  as  is  well 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         257 

known,  has  no  command,  rode  out  on  patrol 
in  person  and  brought  back  a  single  soldier 
as  a  prisoner.  In  this  story  there  is  a  hint 
of  mental  weakness  and  second  childhood 
on  the  part  of  an  old  man  whose  blood- 
thirstiness  is  still  unsatisfied.  I  see  him 
playing,  a  broken-down  graybeard,  with  his 
soldiers,  just  as  an  idiot  plays  with  a  doll. 
After  devoting  his  whole  life  to  the  command 
of  armies  and  the  development  of  battle 
plans,  he  has  not  yet  had  a  chance  to  par- 
ticipate in  a  real  war. 

October  4th, 
A  gentleman  of  some  importance  in  the 
war  has  returned  from  a  trip  to  Grand 
Headquarters.  He  visited  also  the  war 
theater  in  Lorraine  and  the  region  about 
Antwerp.  He  says  that  few  German  troops 
are  now  stationed  in  the  Toul-Verdun  area. 
The  public  is  deceived,  if  it  believes,  on  the 
strength  of  unmodified  official  reports,  that 
the  effort  to  pass  the  Meuse  and  to  force  the 


258         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

fall  of  Verdun  is  being  actively  pushed. 
On  the  contrary,  the  investment  of  Ant- 
werp is  being  proceeded  with  energetically; 
the  Germans  have  few  troops  there,  but  a 
great  many  heavy  guns.  Presumably  the 
German  troops  near  Rheims  have  again 
advanced  far  enough  to  attack  and  break 
through.  But  the}^  have  had  strict  orders 
to  remain  inactive  until  the  new  battle 
front  toward  the  coast  has  been  stabilized. 

This  gentleman  reports  that  the  Kaiser 
shows  himself  daily  for  a  very  brief  period 
at  Grand  Headquarters.  Field  Marshal 
von  Moltke  is  rather  apathetic;  the  real 
force  and  the  coming  man  is  now  the  War 
Minister,  von  Falkenhayn,  who  is  assisted 
by  some  capable  general  staff  officers. 
There  is  a  great  crowd  of  exalted  and  still 
more  exalted  personages  at  headquarters, 
which  has  now  been  shifted  from  Luxemburg 
to  Mezieres. 

The  demand  for  munitions  has  outrun  all 
expectations.     The  problem  of  a  munition 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  259 

reserve  requires  great  consideration.  I  shall 
not  reproduce  the  technical  details  which 
this  gentleman  gave  me.  But  the  following 
seems  to  me  worth  recording.  The  French 
field  gun  is  universally  admired  and  recog- 
nized as  superior  to  the  German.  It  has 
been  a  true  piece  of  good  fortune  that  the 
French  artillery  ammunition  is  bad.  The 
superiority  of  the  French  field  gun  is  a  fine 
testimonial  to  French  capacity,  for  they 
began  to  experiment  on  this  gun  in  the  year 
1896,  while  the  Germans  did  not  begin  until 
almost  ten  years  later. 

This  gentleman,  who  keeps  close  track  of 
military  affairs,  also  tells  me,  as  others  have 
done  before,  that  the  German  soldiers  have 
not  dropped  their  habits  of  plundering  and 
have  become  rather  brutal.  He  himself  saw 
a  part  of  the  city  of  Mechlin  sacked  by 
soldiers  of  very  many  different  regiments. 
The  houses  were  burst  open;  articles  which 
could  not  be  destroyed  on  the  spot  were 
carried  away  in  wagons.     Officers  also  took 


26o         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

a  hand  in  this  destruction  and  plundering. 
On  the  recommendation  of  my  informant, 
police  were  stationed  in  this  part  of  the  city 
to  guard  the  houses.  But  it  had  already 
been  devastated  to  a  serious  extent. 

October  5th. 

The  inexpressibly  vulgar  tone  of  the  Ger- 
man press  has  been  moderated  a  little  in 
recent  days.  Not  because  it  had  begun  to 
be  ashamed  of  itself,  but  because  the  oil 
of  fresh  news  of  victory  was  not  forthcoming 
to  maintain  its  frightful  patriotic  ardor. 
It  is  already  afraid  that  the  medicine  which 
it  would  prescribe  for  the  enemy  may,  under 
certain  circumstances,  be  prescribed  for  the 
Germans  themselves.  The  newspapers  have 
often  enough  bellowed  out  to  our  opponents : 
"This  world  war  is  a  world  ordeal,  arranged 
by  God." 

But  this  phrase  can  also  be  fulfilled  in  a 
sense  the  reverse  of  theirs. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         261 

It  has  very  recently  become  the  order 
of  the  day  to  praise  the  Bavarian  soldiers. 
They  are  described  as  being  especially  terri- 
ble, as  throwing  themselves  on  the  enemy 
with  bayonets  and  musket  butts,  without 
minding  the  devastating  fire  of  the  machine 
guns  and  preferring  to  die  rather  than  be 
taken  prisoners.  As  a  Bavarian  I  cannot 
take  any  satisfaction  in  news  of  this  sort. 
What  do  these  Bavarians  know  about  the 
cause  of  the  war?  On  whose  side  does  the 
guilt  lie  ?  Who  has  threatened  them  ?  What 
have  they  in  common  with  the  ideas  and 
interests  which  brought  Germany  into  its 
intolerable  position  in  Europe? 

What  do  they  know  about  their  oppo- 
nents? When  have  they  experienced  any 
unfriendliness  on  the  part  of  any  one  of 
their  present  enemies?  What  do  they  know 
about  the  legal  and  moral  contentions  of 
their  antagonists?  Most  of  all,  what  do  they 
know  about  the  usages  of  international 
law? 


202         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

The  Old  Bavarians,  who  are  so  extolled 
(I  am  not  one  of  them),  are  a  rough,  rather 
brutal,  generally  good-natured  country  and 
mountain  folk,  which  blindly  answers  the 
call  to  war,  as  many  other  German  stocks 
do,  but  perhaps  with  an  especial  satisfaction 
sees  itself  commanded  to  quarrel,  to  plunder, 
and  to  murder,  because  it  is  peculiarly  with- 
out self-knowledge  and  concerns  itself  but 
little  about  the  reasons  which  have  brought 
it  suddenly  face  to  face  with  foes.  Does 
this  people,  devoted  to  its  own  narrow  home 
surroundings,  really  know  whether  its  good 
or  its  evil  instincts  have  been  aroused? 

No.  It  acts  now  in  folly  and  in  bigotry, 
as  so  often  before  it  has  acted  under  the  spell 
of  its  political  predilections  and  hatreds.  It 
begins  to  admire  Prussia  and  her  king  at  a 
moment  when  both  have  lost  the  last  rem- 
nant of  sympathy  and  respect  the  world 
over.  As  formerly  Prussia  was  the  heredi- 
tary foe,  so  France  is  now — and  without 
any  reason. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         263 

If  the  beautiful  Bavarian  land  had  main- 
tained a  political  isolation  like  that  of 
Switzerland,  the  Bavarian  people  could  long 
ago  have  trodden  the  path  of  true  progress. 
They  would  not  have  lacked  clear  lodestars. 
The  great  and  limitless  problems  with  which 
other  peoples  torment  themselves  have 
practically  no  meaning  for  this  little  inte- 
rior nation,  capable  of  living  on  its  own  re- 
sources. Nature  intended  it  to  be  a  friend 
to  all  its  neighbors.  The  evil  association 
with  Prussia  brings  with  it  such  conse- 
quences that  one  now  reads:  the  Bavarians 
are  the  most  terrible  of  all  in  battle;  they 
take  off  their  coats  in  order  to  be  able  to 
fight  better;  with  their  long  knives  they  cut 
down  everything  which  comes  in  their  way ; 
they  grant  no  quarter  and  for  that  reason 
they  are  now  stationed  opposite  the  English 
troops. 

Our  newspapers  announce  that  a  French- 
man has  defended  the  right  of  France  to 
send  black  troops  against  the  Germans  on 


264        The  Vandal  of  Europe 

the  ground  that  Germany  has  turned  loose 
the  Bavarians  against  the  French.  Most 
people  see  in  this  anecdote  a  compliment  to 
the  Bavarians,  of  which  they  may  well  be 
proud.  So  deep  has  this  people  sunk — a 
people  essentially  sound,  temperate,  and 
filled  with  loyalty  to  their  own  land. 


I  get  news  at  first  hand  that  the  com- 
mission for  the  investigation  of  Russian 
outrages  in  East  Prussia,  with  the  Minister 
of  the  Interior,  the  Ober-Präsident,  etc., 
at  its  head,  has  returned  without  findings, 
except  such  as  could  be  constructed  from 
the  heated  fancies  of  their  fellow  country- 
men. It  has  not  been  able  to  verify  a  single 
one  of  the  reported  outrages.  This  is  im- 
portant enough  to  go  into  further. 

Hair-raising  details  of  Russian  barbarity 
had  been  given  us.  Public  opinion  credu- 
lously accepted  these  tales,  even  though  they 
ran    to    frightful    extremes — for    instance, 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         265 

that  the  Russian  soldiers  made  a  practice  of 
nailing  the  hands  of  little  country  children 
to  tables.  For  with  us  in  Germany  the 
Russian  soldier  is  regarded  as  a  mere  beast 
of  prey,  whose  brutality,  cruelty,  shameless- 
ness,  and  passion  for  destruction  cannot  be 
paralleled,  to  an  equal  degree,  in  any  other 
portion  of  the  human  race. 

I  had  already  doubted  the  representative 
character  of  this  picture  and,  on  the  basis 
of  various  impressions  of  Russia,  had  im- 
agined that  the  Russian  soldier  may  well  be 
still  more  lacking  in  judgment  and  still  more 
excitable  than  the  German  soldier  is,  but 
yet  milder,  more  good  humored,  and  more 
altruistic  than  the  latter.  It  must  be  con- 
sidered that  in  Russia  there  are  many  and 
very  dissimilar  stocks;  but  I  found  my 
conception  confirmed  in  the  minute  por- 
traits of  the  Russian  mujik  drawn  by  the 
great  Russian  authors  and  in  the  current 
news  about  intellectual  movements  in  all 
parts  of  Russia.     If  anyone  replies  that  the 


266  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

Russian  soldier  blindly  obeys  his  leaders, 
then  I  must  say  that  these  leaders  seem  to 
me,  with  all  their  other  defects,  to  be  far 
superior  to  our  own  in  whatever  concerns 
honest,  humane  feeling  and  inclinations 
toward   justice   and   magnanimity. 

I  cannot  describe  my  feelings  when  I  now 
hear  from  authentic  sources  that  not  a 
single  violation  of  international  law  occurred. 
The  commission  admits — naturally,  not 
publicly, — -that  the  Russians  have  not  been 
as  ruthless  as  one  might  expect  them  to  be 
in  war.  The  East  Prussian  population  and 
local  authorities  have  frequently  expressed 
themselves  very  gratefully  and  very  flatter- 
ingly in  regard  to  the  behavior  of  the 
Russians. 

Germans,  be  still  and  bow  your  heads  in 
shame !  In  your  boorish  simplicity  you  are 
a  peril  to  the  world.  We  have  been  told 
that  entire  cities  were  plundered  by  the 
Russians;  that  they  were  wasted  by  fire 
and  sword.     Now  the  burgomasters  of  these 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         267 

German  cities  themselves  give  official  evi- 
dence of  the  good  conduct  of  the  Russian 
forces  of  occupation. 

We  were  told  that  many  foresters  of  the 
Rominter  Heide,  some  fifty  in  all,  were  shot 
at  the  order  of  a  Russian  general.  The 
foresters  are  still  alive  and  know  nothing  of 
any  attempt  to  commit  such  an  outrage. 
We  have  also  been  informed  that  a  Russian 
general  has  been  dragged  in  chains  before  a 
court-martial  because  he  advised  his  soldiers 
to  commit  acts  in  violation  of  international 
law.  The  text,  even,  of  his  order  has  been 
published.  But  of  this  charge,  as  of  all  the 
others,  nothing  remains — nothing  beyond 
our  own  insults  and  threats. 

We  try  to  square  ourselves  with  shabby 
phrases  like  these:  In  order  to  make  a 
good  impression  on  the  Prussian  popula- 
tion the  Russian  soldiers  and  army  lead- 
ers have  not  behaved  as  badly  as  it  is  their 
general  practice  to  do!  Make  a  good  im- 
pression yourselves  in   the  same  way;  win 


268         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

the  respect  of  enemy  populations,  as  the 
Russians  did,  and  I  shall  gladly  think  that 
you  have  acted  not  out  of  policy  but  out  of 
generosity ! 

What  did  Hindenburg's  troops  do  when 
they  triumphed  over  the  Russians?  The 
story  goes  from  mouth  to  mouth:  It  was 
not  enough  that  the  enemy  was  driven  into 
the  swamps ;  tens  of  thousands  of  them  who 
wished  to  surrender  and  sought  to  clamber 
out  of  the  morass  were  pushed  back  again 
at  the  bayonet's  point,  until  they  were 
suffocated  and  drowned.  This  was  done 
under  orders.  Quarter  was  not  to  be  given. 
One  could  not  make  use  at  home  of  so  many 
prisoners.  For  days  and  nights  the  cries  of 
the  drowning  were  heard,  so  piercing  that 
they  sounded  above  the  thunder  of  the 
cannon ;  and  many  a  soldier  who  was  obliged 
to  listen  to  this  clamor  of  desperation  lost 
his  reason. 

Ninety  thousand  prisoners  were  taken  in 
that  battle ;  but  it  is  said  that  still  more  were 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         269 

murdered  as  they  lay  helpless  and  pleading 
for  aid. 

I  have  no  absolute  assurance  that  this  is 
true.  But  everybody  says  it  really  hap- 
pened and  no  one  has  a  word  of  regret  for  it. 
On  the  contrary,  everyone  approves  it  and 
says  that  it  was  the  only  proper  thing  to  do. 

This  state  of  mind  is  for  me  far  more 
important  than  the  question  how  much  of 
what  rumor  tells  us  is  so.  Only  to-day  a 
journalist  and  officer,  a  subaltern,  but  a 
typical  figure,  told  me  he  had  heard  that  no 
quarter  would  be  given  any  more  when  it 
could  be  avoided;  that  this  was  also  good 
policy;  that  we  had  already  a  couple  of 
hundred  thousand  prisoners  in  the  country, 
who  were  a  burden  and  a  perü.  It  would  be 
far  better  if  they  were  killed  at  once  on  the 
battlefield.  The  quicker  the  power  and  the 
blood  of  the  enemy  nations  are  exhausted, 
the  sooner  will  the  war  be  decided  and  our 
overlordship  assured. 

This  fellow  told  me  all  this  with  the  well- 


270         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

known  German  childlike  smile  and  calm 
blue  eye.  He  himself  would  gladly  shoot 
prisoners.  He  does  not  pursue  the  idea  any 
further,  and  never  thinks  that  the  enemy 
might  also  kill  prisoners.  For  we  have  more 
prisoners  than  the  enemy  hasl 

October  6th. 
To-day  I  saw  what  might  be  called 
a  protocol  of  the  future  arrangement  of 
Europe  in  case  of  victory  for  us — such  as 
I  have  often  read  about.  I  am  now  begin- 
ning to  collect  these  amusing  documents, 
without  wasting  here  any  further  words 
about  them.  But  if  I  should  ever  hear  a 
voice  in  Germany  which  speaks  of  justice, 
humanity,  or  non -material  progress  after  the 
war,  or  after  our  victory,  then  I  will  com- 
ment on  the  fact  with  pride  and  very  fully, 
even  if  it  is  the  voice  of  an  unimportant  and 
unknown  person.  I  shall  call  him  the  first 
European  in  Germany.  Unfortunately  all 
these  innumerable  greedy  and  violent  de- 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         271 

mands  are  put  forward  by  persons  who  be- 
long to  influential  and  controlling  circles. 
No  wonder  that  Germany  has  no  friend 
abroad.  She  deserves  none.  Such  a  for- 
eign friend  would  be  a  suspicious  person,  a 
friend  of  materialism,  of  lies  and  corruption. 

I  am  just  reading  also  a  copy  of  a  cor- 
respondence between  two  very  influential 
Germans,  in  which  the  hostile  opinion  of  the 
populace  and  press  in  Holland  is  discussed 
and  in  which  the  employment  of  money  to 
the  greatest  and  most  elaborate  extent  is 
recommended  as  the  only,  and  at  the  same 
time  a  really  efficient,  means  of  overcoming 
this  feeling.  It  was  suggested  that  the 
monies  which  are  now  being  advanced  out 
of  the  war  fund  by  the  Foreign  Office  should 
be  recovered  later  through  a  war  indemnity. 

The  assurance  and  conviction  with  which 
this  proposition  is  made  horrify  even  me, 
who  am  accustomed  to  the  unusual.  The 
person  to  whom  the  proposition  was  ad- 
dressed replies,  of  course,  that  he  believes 


272         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

that  with  a  part  of  the  people  of  Holland, 
this  means,  which  he  has  himself  success- 
fully employed  in  Belgium,  Italy,  and 
Rumania,  and  whose  further  employment 
he  has  recommended,  will  be  less  effective 
than  good  words  will  be.  But  he  has  spoken 
to  the  Foreign  Office  of  this  valuable  method 
of  propaganda  and  offers  the  assurance  that 
already  in  Holland,  as  in  other  countries, 
trusted  emissaries  of  the  Foreign  Office  are 
pursuing  with  ample  means  the  campaign 
discussed  in  the  correspondence. 

Let  one  paint  for  himself  the  dazzling 
picture  of  our  moral  future,  if,  along  with 
the  German  armies,  German  methods  are 
victorious. 

October  24th. 
For  some  weeks  I  have  made  no  entries. 
Driven  by  an  intolerable  unrest,  I  went  on  a 
journey.  I  have  seen  relatives  and  friends. 
But  my  desperation  has  not  become  lessened. 
We  cannot  for  the  present  help  ourselves. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         273 

Almost  all  of  us  are  caught  up  in  the  great 
war  machine.  Even  the  few  who  hold  back 
see  no  other  possibility  than  that  of  help- 
ing in  some  way,  cooperating  in  a  so-called 
harmless  manner,  humbly  seeking  small 
positions,  because  one  cannot  stop  doing 
something,  because  one  must  alleviate  mis- 
ery, because  one  is  powerless  against  the 
stor^n.  Most  of  those  who  are  unfit  for 
any  kind  of  war  service  have  saved  them- 
selves from  inner  shipwreck  by  letting  them- 
selves be  carried  along  on  the  currents  of  the 
day;  and  the  very  small  remnant  which 
stands  apart  complainingly  and  has  re- 
mained sensitive  to  the  universal  distress  of 
the  times  only  aggravates  my  helpless  woe. 
He  who  still  has  strength  and  would  like 
to  do  something  finds  his  loneliness  frightful. 
The  hiss  of  hatred  drowns  his  words.  Over- 
powered by  the  pandemonium  around  him 
he  closes  his  eye;  he  cannot  flee  and  he 
cannot  die;  the  whirlpool  blinds  him  and 

takes  his  breath. 
18 


274  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

What  shall  I  write?  I  do  not  feel  as  if 
I  had  omitted  much.  I  could  only  have 
restated  the  melancholy  convictions  which 
I  have  already  expressed,  strengthening 
them  with  new  examples. 

Moreover,  there  has  been  very  little 
change  in  the  theaters  of  war.  It  is  true 
that  Antwerp  fell  some  time  ago.  But  its 
fall  has  had  no  vital  consequences  in  the 
way  of  hastening  the  end  of  the  war.  Bel- 
gian troops  still  defend  themselves  desper- 
ately against  the  German  thrust  in  the 
North.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Lille  con- 
tinuous fighting  is  reported,  without  great 
results.  Nothing  has  happened  in  the  way 
of  repairing  the  wrong  against  Belgium;  and 
the  longer  we  persist  in  a  military  occupa- 
tion of  Belgian  territory,  the  severer  and 
more  terrible  will  the  conflict  be. 

Perhaps  one  may  say  that  the  excitement 
which  has  raged  for  the  last  few  months 
among  our  people  has  subsided  in  a  certain 
measure.     After    the    rapid    advances    of 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         275 

August  the  suspension  of  all  major  opera- 
tions through  September  and  October  has 
seemed  very  mysterious  to  the  people.  But 
the  bellowing  of  the  press  seeks  to  drown 
out  this  sentiment.  May  things  run  such  a 
course  that  a  paralysis  follows  over-excite- 
ment, and  that  sober  consideration  follows 
paralysis ! 

Also  in  the  East  the  great  decisive  battles 
of  which  there  has  been  talk  for  weeks  have 
not  been  begun. 

*  *  * 

Landsturm  formations  are  already  being 
created  to  a  large  extent,  and  sent  on  the 
way  to  the  fronts.  An  extraordinary  number 
of  volunteers  have  been  put  into  training, 
and  a  still  greater  number  are  available  as 
the  occasion  for  using  them  arises — that  is, 
as  soon  as  they  can  be  clothed  and  drilled. 

On  my  journey  I  had  a  chance  to  see  a 
prisoners'  camp.     I  shall  never  forget  the 


276         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

disconsolateness  with  which  a  little  old, 
broken-down  man  in  peasant's  clothes  sat 
alongside  a  half-grown  boy,  on  a  long 
wooden  bench.  Why  had  they  brought 
these  poor  creatures  here?  What  crime 
can  they  have  committed,  that  we  do  not 
now  really  kill  them,  but  will  not  allow  them 
to  go  free? 

In  the  neighborhood  a  battalion  of  elderly 
men  were  drilling  under  the  command  of  an 
elderly,  sloppy,  and  awkward  officer.  The 
drill  seemed  to  me  as  foolish  and  as  un- 
military  as  possible.  When  one  sees  these 
people,  one  can  hardly  think  of  them  as 
rendering  more  than  a  merely  negative 
service  as  soldiers.  The  majority  of  the 
men  and  the  reserve  officers  are  as  unfit 
physically  as  they  are  mentally. 

Almost  all  of  them  have  taken  physical 
exercise  at  only  one  period  of  their  lives — 
when  they  were  forced  to  do  so  during  their 
compulsory  service  in  the  army.  Before 
that  and  afterwards  they  were  plimged  in 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         277 

that  lethargy  which  constitutes  so  essential 
an  element  of  German  Gemüthlichkeit  and 
which  shows  in  the  well-known  German 
masculine  figure.  If  a  German's  occupation 
requires  no  physical  exercise,  he  takes  none; 
for  everyone  conforms  to  the  special  de- 
mands of  his  vocation  and  practices  it  until 
his  mental  and  physical  machinery  wears 
out. 

Most  of  the  reserve  officers  have  held  on 
to  their  gay-colored  coats  as  the  hall-mark 
of  the^ir  social  position  and  point-of-view, 
just  like  a  university  corps  band,  but  with- 
out developing  their  military  knowledge 
or  capacity.  I  should  never  have  thought 
that  they  still  took  their  role  as  soldiers 
seriously  and  could  possibly  train  troops. 

In  spite  of  all  that  has  happened  I  cannot 
even  to-day  regard  the  Germans  as  a  people 
warlike  by  nature.  The  inclination  they 
show  to  squeeze  their  bloated,  prematurely 
flabby  bodies  into  uniforms  is  not  a  proof  of 
warlike  disposition.     They  always  appeared 


278  Ihe  Vandal  of  Europe 

to  me  like  asses  who  gladly  incase  themselves 
in  lions'  skins  and  cheer  themselves  with  the 
idea  that  all  the  world  about  them  consists 
also  of  similarly  disguised  asses. 

Should  the  Germans,  however,  really 
prove  superior  in  this  war,  and  I  were 
called  upon  to  solve  the  mystery,  I  should 
say  that  even  the  most  stupid  and  clumsy 
wins  in  war,  if  he  is  only  ready  to  sacrifice 
his  intellect,  to  make  the  most  primitive 
movements,  which,  however  ridiculous  in 
detail,  are  imposing  in  the  mass,  and  never 
ceases  doing  so  until  he  is  relieved  either  by 
death  or  by  a  word  of  command. 


On  my  journey  I  had  a  conversation 
with  one  of  our  best  known  financiers.  As  I 
was  struck  by  this  gentleman's  "moderate" 
views,  I  want  to  put  them  on  record.  For 
he  is  the  first  responsible  German  I  have  met 
who  wants  to  treat  France  leniently.  Ac- 
cording to  him,  we  must  first  come  to  an 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         279 

agreement  with  France  before  there  can  be 
a  settling  of  accounts  with  England.  From 
France  he  wanted  "only"  a  few  important 
frontier  districts,  such  as  Longwy  and  Briey, 
because  of  their  iron  deposits.  But  he 
wanted  to  give  France  the  greatest  part  of 
Belgium,  inclusive  of  Brussels  and  Ostend, 
retaining  for  Germany  only  Liege  and  Ant- 
werp, with  a  connecting  strip  of  land,  and  to 
offer  to  the  Dutch,  who  would  have  to  cede 
Maestricht  and  their  land  on  the  Scheldt, 
rich  compensation  in  the  province  of  Lim- 
burg. 

At  the  same  time  advantageous  treaties, 
establishing  a  sort  of  tariff  union,  ought  to 
be  concluded  with  France  and  Holland  (Bel- 
gium had,  of  course,  already  been  par- 
titioned) .  He  did  not  doubt  that  we  could 
reach  such  an  agreement  both  with  France 
and  with  Holland.  Only  a  little  skillful 
diplomatic  work  would  be  needed  as  soon  as 
impending  operations  on  the  Western  front 
should  produce  another  impressive  German 


28o         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

victory.  The  present  Imperial  Chancellor 
and  the  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign 
Affairs  seemed  to  him  unfit  for  such  a  task. 
He  considered  Minister  Delbrück  the  best 
chief  in  sight,  but  also  admitted  that  Ad- 
miral Tirpitz  possessed  high  qualifications. 
*  *  * 

Once  I  rode  in  the  same  railroad  compart- 
ment with  half  a  dozen  wounded  soldiers, 
each  one  of  whom  belonged  to  a  different 
regiment.  One  of  them  was  disabled  during 
the  siege  of  Luneville.  He  was  disconsolate 
because  he  was  not  sent  back  to  France  by 
way  of  Belgium,  since  he  would  have  been 
glad  of  an  opportunity  to  see  that  part  of 
the  world  also.  Another,  who  was  blind  of 
one  eye,  was  heartily  glad  to  come  home  and 
to  be  definitely  exempted  from  military 
service.  A  third  said  that  he  had  lain  three 
weeks  long  in  the  trenches,  had  suffered 
many  hardships,  and  been  half  starved  and 
was  thankful  for  the  bullet  which  sent  him 
home. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         281 

The  fourth  told  naively  and  slyly,  with 
the  applause  of  the  others,  how  they  had 
plundered  locked  houses  and  jewelry  shops 
and  set  fire  to  entire  communities,  "when- 
ever they  were  displeased  at  something"; 
how  they  forcibly  took  away  food  from  the 
population,  and  yet  had  often  nothing  to  eat 
for  several  days.  In  one  house  only,  he 
said  in  conclusion,  they  had  taken  nothing. 
A  dead  man  lay  there  in  the  coffin,  and 
before  him,  on  the  ground,  an  old  woman, 
also  dead.  It  looked  as  if  a  funeral  had 
been  interrupted. 

Another  praised  the  power  of  the  German 
attack.  The  Germans,  he  said,  could  not 
be  held  back  whenever  they  got  within 
two  hundred  meters  of  the  French.  The 
latter  always  surrendered  at  once,  holding 
high  the  butt- ends  of  their  guns.  It  was 
harder  to  take  the  English. 

The  sixth,  a  fresh  young  man,  had  only 
minor  war  adventures  to  relate,  and  con- 
trasted favorably  with  his  companions,  all  of 


282         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

whom  either  brooded  gloomily  or  laughed 
suspiciously. 

Our  patriots  maintain  that  you  can  tell 
merely  by  looking  at  our  soldiers  that  they 
are  incapable  of  committing  brutalities  or 
of  murdering  people.  But  it  amounts  to 
the  same  thing  when  these  patriots  rejoice 
that  a  just  punishment  was  meted  out  to 
Belgian  communities  with  true  berserker 
rage. 

Each  of  these  six  men  was  frankly  de- 
lighted to  have  escaped  the  dangers  and  the 
hardships  of  the  war  with  a  memento. 
Since  the  newspapers  maintain  that  all  our 
wounded  are  eager  to  return  to  the  front, 
the  war  correspondents  must  be  guilty  of 
wülful  credulity,  to  say  the  least.  The 
soldiers  like  to  brag,  and  take  their  cue  from 
the  expectations  of  the  listener. 

In  most  cases  they  are  asked  to  relate 
instances  of  extraordinary  courage,  of  so- 
called  "pluck."  Should  anyone,  however, 
strike  a  clear,  human,  and  serious  note — the 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         283 

sort  of  note  which  would  inspire  them  with 
moral  courage — they  speedily  confess  their 
weariness  of  war. 

The  six  above-mentioned  poor  devils,  who 
were  grateful  for  my  attitude  and  my  sym- 
pathy, manifestly  preferred  my  society  to 
the  advances  of  other  passengers,  who  with 
the  customary  stiff  compliments  offered 
them  "hero  fire" — the  present  slang  word 
for  soldiers'  tobacco.  Whatever  these  six 
men  may  have  done,  they  are  not  to  blame. 
They  did  not  know  any  better,  they  do  not 
understand  the  limits  of  their  rights  and 
duties.  Who  was  there  to  teach  them?  At 
home,  in  school,  in  the  barracks,  in  their 
vocations,  there  was  no  one  to  take  the 
trouble  of  raising  the  man  within  them  to 
a  higher,  freer  level.  They  received  orders, 
and  they  obeyed.  Even  where  they  in- 
wardly resisted  they  did  not  know  how 
to  give  expression  to  their  better  feelings, 
because  nobody  helped  them  to  an  under- 
standing of  their  own  consciences.     They 


284         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

remained  inarticulate,  confused,  and  mis- 
trustful, and  finally  regulated  themselves 
in  what  they  did  and  left  undone  by  the 
injunctions  and  prohibitions  of  the  powers 
set  over  them. 

+  *  * 

On  my  journey  I  looked  up  a  German 
teacher  of  international  law,  who  remem- 
bered me  very  well  from  university  days. 
Even  this  man  seemed  to  me  to  be  on  the 
wrong  path,  and  very  much  inclined  to  bring 
his  scientific  knowledge  into  harmony  with 
the  doings  of  the  German  military  and 
political  leaders.  I  said  to  him  that  it  was 
very  regrettable  that  his  science  had  re- 
mained in  Germany  a  book  with  seven  seals. 
At  most  there  were  in  the  Foreign  Office 
a  few  vain  and  ridiculous  jurists,  with  a 
barren  knowledge  of  the  subject  matter 
of  international  law.  Instruction  in  inter- 
national law  should  be  given  to  all  sections 
of  the  people.  Especially,  those  attached 
to  the  military  administration  should  have  a 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         285 

knowledge  of  it;  but  in  that  administration 
those  in  the  highest  positions  are  ignorant; 
a  very  few  of  them  do  what  is  necessary, 
guided  by  their  own  hearts,  not  by  a  famil- 
iarity with  the  law  of  nations. 

He  agreed  with  me  in  this  and  told  me  of  a 
number  of  cases  on  which  he  was  engaged, 
in  which  newspapers  and  military  officers 
had  committed  the  most  narrow-minded 
and  dangerous  blunders  in  interpreting 
international  law.  In  his  opinion  it  was 
more  important  even  than  physical  drill 
that  the  soldier  in  every  grade  should  be 
thoroughly  instructed  in  his  proper  be- 
havior in  an  enemy  country.  It  was  not 
enough  to  put  a  printed  pamphlet  in  the 
hands  of  a  soldier  on  the  march,  as  had 
recently  been  done.  It  was  a  little  too 
much  for  him,  however,  when  I  said  that  we 
had  already  so  much  on  our  conscience  in 
this  war  that  our  whole  credit  as  a  civilized 
people  had  been  wiped  out. 


286        The  Vandal  of  Europe 

The  stupid  altercations  between  authors 
and  artists  continue.  The  scenes  become 
daily  more  disgusting.  To-day  a  foreign 
painter  is  expelled  from  various  German 
societies  because  he  signed  a  protest.  To- 
morrow a  German  author  pours  the  vial  of 
his  patriotic  abuse  on  the  head  of  a  foreign 
colleague  and  former  friend.  The  proposi- 
tion is  regularly  renewed  to  buy  in  future 
no  picture  or  book  of  a  foreigner,  to  exhibit 
none,  to  praise  or  even  to  notice  none.  It 
is  again  and  again  exploited  as  a  special 
grievance  that  a  foreigner  has  enjoyed  a 
good  market  and  reputation  in  Germany. 

Ought  one  not  to  say  that  all  the  world 
has  gone  mad,  since  it  thinks  that  the  artist 
must  create,  not  out  of  his  own  thoughts  and 
feelings,  but  merely  to  please  his  public! 
If  the  guardians  of  the  true,  the  good,  and 
the  beautiful  have  now  nothing  but  ex- 
travagant words  of  hate,  where  shall  we 
poor  blinded,  down-trodden,  and  enslaved 
look  for  light?    The  man  who  wrote  the 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         287 

Song  of  Hate,  which  is  making  the  rounds 
these  days,  can  be  only  the  grotesque  carica- 
ture of  a  poet. 

October  25th. 

I  had  a  visit  from  a  prominent  and  intelli- 
gent Dutch  merchant,  who  has  many  con- 
nections in  Germany  and  whose  wife  is  a 
German.  He  emphasized  Holland's  desire 
to  remain  neutral  under  all  circumstances, 
but  he  bluntly  declared  that  there  was  no 
sympathy  in  Holland  for  the  German  cause. 
Our  assault  on  Belgium  had  made  the  chasm 
between  the  German  and  the  Dutch  points- 
of-view  unbridgeable.  When  he  attempted 
to  defend  the  Germans,  he  had  often  been 
met  with  questions  or  answers  to  which  he 
could  make  no  convincing  reply. 

The  Dutch,  in  his  view,  fear  Germany 
more  than  they  fear  England ;  above  all  they 
fear  German  encroachments  in  case  of  a 
German  victory.  The  Dutch,  he  said, 
wished  no  correction  of  their  German  fron- 


288         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

tier;  they  would  relinquish  neither  Maes- 
tricht  nor  the  mouth  of  the  Scheldt,  even 
though  the  Germans  should  offer  them 
territory  much  more  extensive  in  exchange. 
The  province  of  Zeeland  has  always  been 
Dutch;  the  Belgian  province  of  Limburg, 
on  the  contrary,  has  very  little  in  common 
with  Holland.  Dutchmen  hate  the  idea 
that  still  in  the  twentieth  century  there  can 
be  chaffering  and  bargaining  over  the  polit- 
ical status  of  such  territory.  They  draw 
the  conclusion  that  Germany,  if  she  retained 
Antwerp,  would  wish  to  have  the  Dutch 
barrier  around  that  city  removed ;  but  they 
do  not  wish  to  go  into  such  a  trade.  The 
Hollanders  want  to  keep  what  belongs  to 
them  and  do  not  seek  to  have  anything  else 
bestowed  on  them  by  Germany. 
They  say  in  Holland: 

The  part  of  Belgium  which  once  belonged  to 
us,  we  saw  cut  off  without  any  regret.  If  we 
had  put  any  value  on  it,  we  would  long  ago 
have  attempted  ourselves  either  to  keep  it,  or  to 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         289 

recover  it.  What  is  important  for  us  is  our 
complete  independence.  We  want  to  remain 
Hollanders,  as  other  people  want  to  remain 
Swiss,  and,  least  of  all,  do  we  want  to  get  mixed 
up  with  Germany.  Not  only  because  German 
methods  of  government  are  like  a  blow  in  the 
face  to  us,  but  also  because  our  material  interests 
do  not  accord  with  German  interests. 

The  Dutch  have  the  free  trade  point  of 
view.  A  tariff  union  with  Germany  would 
mean,  however,  that  they  should  shut  them- 
selves off  from  the  sea,  a  thing  which  would 
never  occur  to  them.  Moreover,  the  Dutch 
way  of  thinking  and  acting  is  more  in  har- 
mony with  the  English  way.  The  English 
have  converted  the  meanest  act  which,  in 
Dutch  estimation,  they  have  ever  com- 
mitted— namely,  the  attack  on  the  Boers — 
into  a  glorious  page  in  their  history,  inas- 
much as  they  have  completely  reconciled  the 
Boers,  who  are  now  scarcely  less  their  own 
masters  than  they  were  before.  The  live- 
and -let-live  theory  of  the  English  has  unfor- 
tunately  not   prevailed   with  the  German 


290         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

Government  even  from  its  first  beginnings. 
The  cry  of  the  Poles,  the  Danes,  the  Alsa- 
tians, and  now  also  of  the  Belgians  stirs 
every  nerve  and  braces  every  muscle  in  Hol- 
land to  the  utmost  alertness  and  vigilance. 

Yes,  you  Germans,  learn  now,  when  it  is 
not  too  late !  No  one  wants  the  bones  from 
your  robber  feasts,  which  you  think  of 
throwing  to  him.  Rather  will  everyone 
take  you  by  the  scruff  of  the  neck  because 
of  the  flower  of  human  life  which  you  have 
slain.  You  can  tempt  Holland  as  little  as 
France  with  your  offer  of  a  scrap  of  Belgium. 
Europe  begins  to  turn  toward  a  better  re- 
ligion.    But  you  have  remained  pagans. 

October  26th. 
The  Chief  of  the  General  Staff,  von 
Moltke,  has,  on  account  of  sickness,  turned 
over  his  duties  to  the  Minister  of  War,  von 
Falkenhayn.  But  he  is  said  to  be  already 
better,  and  consequently  the  sickness  is 
regarded  as  a  pretext.     What  a  shout  of 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  291 

triumph  would  have  been  raised  by  the  Ger- 
man press,  by  order  of  the  Government,  if 
France  has  been  forced  to  announce  a  change 
in  the  highest  command.  As  one  hears, 
von  Moltke  faithfully  executed  the  plans 
inherited  from  his  predecessors,  adding  to 
them  nothing  of  his  own.  As  long  as  von 
Moltke  was  Chief  of  the  General  Staff,  the 
Kaiser  was  the  real  leader.  Therefore,  this 
resignation  means  a  fiasco  for  the  Kaiser. 
After  a  long  period  of  waiting,  without  vic- 
tory or  defeat,  the  public  would  have  wished 
for  other  news  than  this  announcement  of  a 
change  in  command.  Personal  differences 
are  now  cutting  a  big  figure  at  headquarters. 
There  are  at  present  many  sick  men  there, 
every  one  of  whom  wants  to  be  a  doctor. 


The  Norddeutsche  Allgemeine  Zeitung,  i.e., 
the  Government,  has  recently  published  a 
revelation,  according  to  which  Belgiimi  has 
for    years    been    allied    with    France    and 


292         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

England  against  Germany.  Documents  are 
said  to  have  been  found  in  Antwerp  which 
prove  this  alliance.  The  Belgian  Govern- 
ment has  solemnly  protested  against  this 
statement  and  asked  our  Government  to 
publish  those  documents  fully,  not  mere 
extracts  from  them.  Then  the  permissible 
and  purely  defensive  character  of  that 
rapprochement  with  France  and  England 
would  be  established. 

I  don't  care  to  enter  into  particulars,  but 
will  only  say  that  the  documents  published 
by  the  newspaper  in  question  do  not  estab- 
lish what  the  German  Government  fain 
would  have  the  public  read  into  them.  The 
entire  neutral  press  abroad  has  justly  re- 
pudiated the  calumnies  of  the  Prussian 
official  organ. 

These  lies  are  intended  not  only  to  dis- 
tort wrong  into  right,  but  to  increase  war 
enthusiasm  among  the  people.  Unhappily, 
the  Government  plays  adroitly  on  the  lack 
of  judgment  of  the  German  people,  which  at 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  293 

all  times  it  has  led  away  from  the  light, 
instead  of  toward  the  light.  Besides,  those 
military  plans  date  some  years  back,  and 
one  doesn't  know  whether  they  still  were  or 
ever  had  been  considered  operative.  In  no 
case  did  they  pledge  Belgium  to  a  hostile  act 
against  us,  as  long  as  we  left  her  in  peace. 

October  27th. 
The  time  is  long  past,  when,  according 
to  program,  France  should  have  been 
brought  entirely  to  her  knees.  Now  we  are 
no  longer  told  that  only  through  a  speedy 
victory  over  France  can  we  conquer  our 
enemies.  But  they  give  us  to  understand 
that  in  the  near  future  Dunkirk,  Calais,  and 
other  towns  on  the  coast  will  be  captured — 
which,  after  all,  will  decide  nothing.  The 
Germans  are  making  strenuous  preparations 
to  control  the  English  Channel  through 
shore-batteries.  Target  practice  has  shown 
that  the  38  cm.  navy  guns  have  a  range 
of  about  fifty  kilometers,   and  people  are 


294         The  Vandal  of  Europe  ' 

looking  forward  to  the  sport  of  spreading 
terror  far  into  England.  The  word  is  being 
passed  around:  "The  channel  is  the  life 
nerve  of  England. " 


Italy,  apparently  without  regard  to  friend 
or  foe,  begins  to  collect  booty.  It  is  be- 
coming clear,  despite  all  denials,  that  she 
has  already  occupied  Valona.  Thus  far 
no  comment  has  been  made  on  the  German 
side.  We  seem  ready  to  pay  tribute  for  the 
sake  of  escaping  something  worse.  Before 
the  world  war  the  occupation  of  Valona 
would  have  been  the  signal  for  a  conflict 
between  Austria  and  Italy. 

Noteworthy,  too,  is  the  Czar's  offer  to 
return  Italian-speaking  Austrian  prisoners 
to  Italy,  if  they  agree  not  to  fight  again 
against  Russia.  The  Italian  Government 
has  cleverly  turned  down  this  offer.  Al- 
though Russia's  desire  to  strike  a  blow  at 
Austria-Hungary  may  have  been  the  real 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  295 

motive  of  this  offer,  it  also  contains  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  so-called  nationality 
principle ;  and  the  effect  of  this  acknowledg- 
ment on  the  part  of  Russia  will  be  of  far- 
reaching  significance  for  Europe,  as  well  as 
for  Russia  herself. 

A  certain  respect  due  her  former  ally  and 
larger  or  smaller  concessions  on  the  part  of 
Austria,  which  avoid  the  main  issue,  prob- 
ably will  keep  Italy  from  forcing  an  open 
break  at  present.  But  the  inevitable  can 
only  be  deferred.  The  Italian  people  will 
continue  to  point  ever  more  noisily  to  the 
Irredenta;  the  Austrian  Italians  will  feel 
themselves  drawn  ever  more  strongly  to- 
ward the  Italian  people.  There  is  only  one 
solution.  Austria  must  relinquish  her  claim 
to  rule  great  Italian-speaking  territories,  or 
she  must  be  able  to  prove  positively  that 
the  population  of  these  territories  wants  to 
be  ruled  by  her.  At  a  time  when  even 
Russia  is  willing  to  spread  a  new  light 
among  her  non-Russian  peoples,   Austria- 


296         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

Hungary  and  Germany  ought  not  to  con- 
tinue to  Hve  in  darkness.  But  these  States 
want  to  extinguish  the  Hght  in  other  States. 


The  death  of  the  old  King  of  Rumania 
has  not  brought  any  immediate  change  in 
the  attitude  of  that  country.  We'll  have 
to  wait  to  see  what  his  nephew,  the  new 
King,  does.  The  new  Queen  is  considered 
an  open  friend  of  Germany's  enemies.  A 
Rumanian  who  recently  talked  with  me 
attached  no  very  great  importance  to  the 
sympathies  of  the  dynasty,  but  thought  that 
the  Rumanians  would  themselves  tell  their 
monarch  what  sympathies  he  ought  to  have. 

This  is  also  my  impression.  The  old  King 
had  been  obliged  from  year  to  year  to  hearken 
more  than  ever  to  the  voice  of  the  country, 
instead  of  striking  the  note  of  leadership 
himself.  To  any  power  which  has  no  honest 
comprehension  of  Rumanian  aspirations 
concerning    the    Rumanians    outside    Ru- 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  297 

mania,  that  country  will  be,  at  the  most,  a 
reluctant  friend  or  a  masked  enemy.  As  an 
evidence  of  Rumania's  present  attitude  be 
it  said  that  she  has  detained  for  weeks  the 
war  material  which  Germany  has  been  send- 
ing to  Turkey. 


Formally,  Turkey  is  still  neutral.  Presum- 
ably she  has  already  come  to  an  understand- 
ing with  Persia  and  Afghanistan.  India 
and  Egypt,  however,  seem  to  remain  en- 
tirely tranquil.  The  Japanese  are  fighting 
violently  for  Tsing-Tau  and  have  occu- 
pied the  German  islands  in  the  archipelago. 
We  hear  of  no  uneasiness  in  America  on 
Japan's  account.  But  there  is  a  certain 
rapprochement  between  the  United  States 
and  China. 


Our  newspapers  have  published  a  letter 
from  a  German  girl  to  an  Englishman.     It 


298         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

happened  to  fall  by  accident  into  the  wrong 
hands.  The  girl  assures  the  Englishman  of 
her  unwavering  love.  She  says  that  she 
had  always  felt  happy  among  the  English, 
had  learned  very  much  from  her  association 
with  them,  and  highly  esteemed  and  valued 
her  English  experiences. 

Some  newspapers  declare  it  shameful  for 
a  German  girl  to  make  such  confessions  of 
affection  to  an  enemy  at  a  time  like  this. 
They  say  it  would  be  well  to  arrest  the  many 
Englishmen  who  continue  to  move  about 
freely  in  Germany  and  to  send  women  who 
thus  dishonor  themselves  to  the  public 
pillory. 

This  stupid,  brutal,  and  vulgar  point  of 
view,  adopted  by  the  newspapers,  is  on  a 
level  with  that  which  sees  in  the  foreign 
artist  and  savant  nothing  but  an  enemy 
and  wants  to  ignore  all  intellectual  activities 
outside  of  Germany.  The  girl  could  not 
give  a  better  proof  of  the  genuineness  of  her 
feeling.     The  storm  of  hate  now  lowering 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         299 

over  the  world  could  not  trouble  the  depths 
of  her  heart. 

October  28th. 

To-day  official  news  came  that  the  Ger- 
mans and  Austrians  were  retreating  before 
strong  Russian  forces,  which  had  crossed 
the  Vistula. 

The  Germans  are  making  progress  no- 
where on  the  Western  front.  In  default 
of  successes  of  any  other  sort  the  Crown 
Prince  of  Bavaria  is  developing  into  a 
champion  braggart  and  is  giving  the  world 
an  opportunity  to  acquaint  itself  with  the 
murkiness  of  his  mental  horizon.  He  stands 
with  his  troops  between  Nieuport  and 
Dixmude.  He  has  therefore  made  a  wide 
detour,  since  he  had  intended  to  break  into 
France  in  the  neighborhood  of  Luneville. 

This  gentleman,  the  brother-in-law  of  the 
Queen  of  the  Belgians,  issues  on  Belgian 
soil  an  address  to  his  army  in  which  he  tells 
his  soldiers  that  they  have  now  the  honor 


300         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

of  fighting  against  the  Enghsh.  England 
is  solely  responsible  for  the  war;  his  troops 
should  therefore  take  ruthless  revenge  for 
the  evil  brought  on  the  world  by  England. 
This  brutal  appeal,  which  one  could  hardly 
excuse,  if  it  came  from  a  sergeant-major, 
closes  with  the  words:  "At  them!" 

This  sounds  like  an  incitation  to  give  no 
quarter.  It  is  an  encouragement  to  bru- 
tality. Compare  with  this  the  tone  in 
which  the  English  commanders-in-chief  have 
addressed  their  troops:  "Do  your  duty; 
do  honor  to  the  English  name;  conduct 
yourselves  respectably,  etc."  In  the  Bava- 
rian address  there  is  no  mention  of  the 
restraints  which  the  soldier  ought  to  impose 
on  himself,  although  its  call  to  vengeance 
needed  to  be  explained  and  qualified. 

In  any  case  it  would  still  be  a  cause  of 
shame  to  Bavaria  that  her  Crown  Prince 
spoke  of  revenge  while  occupying  Belgian 
territory.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  enemy, 
after   this   effusion   from   a   Royal   Prince, 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         301 

credits  us  with  outrages  which  we  did  not 
commit  and  that  the  world's  distrust  of  us 
is  confirmed  and  nourished.  Since  this 
address  is  a  fact,  other  things  which  are 
not  facts  will  become  credible. 

October  29th. 

The  sensation  of  to-day  is  the  attitude 
of  the  Boers  of  South  Africa.  Until  now 
it  had  been  assumed  that  no  movement 
of  the  Boers,  hostile  to  England,  was  prob- 
able, although  it  was  known  that  some 
Boers  had  refused  to  fight  against  Ger- 
man colonial  troops,  and  that  a  certain 
Colonel  Maritz  had  mutinied.  But  to-day 
we  read  that  the  Generals  Christian  De 
Wet  and  Beyers  have  headed  a  great  up- 
rising in  the  Orange  Free  State  and  in  the 
Transvaal,  and  that  the  Premier,  General 
Botha,  was  ordered  to  take  summary 
measures  against  his  disloyal  countrymen. 

The  Greek  Government  has  informed  the 
Great  Powers  that  from  considerations  of 


302         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

self -protection,  it  must  reoccupy  Epirus, 
but  will  respect  Valona  as  an  Italian  sphere 
of  influence.  Italy  and  Greece  seem  to  be 
trying  to  reach  a  friendly  understanding. 
It  would  certainly  be  a  step  forward  in 
Europe  if  Italy  were  to  be  guided  in  dealing 
with  Greece  by  her  own  attitude  toward 
Italia  Irredenta.  Both  countries  would  be 
benefited  and  neither  injured. 

October  30th. 

To-day  the  important  news  reaches  us  that 
Turkey  has  decided  to  take  military  action. 
This  decision  coincides  with  the  report  that 
England  has  announced  the  annexation  of 
Egypt.  In  the  meantime  Turkey  has  be- 
gun by  bombarding  several  Russian  towns 
on  the  Black  Sea.  The  destruction  of  a 
few  Russian  vessels  is  also  telegraphed.  In 
Germany  there  is  great  satisfaction.  Enver 
Pasha  is  expected  to  appear  with  an  army 
in  Egypt  as  early  as  December. 

It    is   feared    that    Turkey's   attack    on 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         303 

Russia  will  further  extend  the  zone  of 
conflagration.  Both  Greece  and  Italy  will 
deem  it  to  their  interest  to  restrain  Turkey. 
Resolute  action  by  Italy  will  also  strengthen 
Rumania's  desire  to  assert  herself.  How- 
ever, so  long  as  Bulgaria  remains  tranquil, 
there  is  hope  that  Greece  and  Rumania 
may  be  kept  inactive. 

*  *  * 

The  Government  recently  issued  an  an- 
nouncement to  the  effect  that  its  statement 
that  Germany,  after  the  war,  will  respect 
Holland's  political  independence  has  created 
an  excellent  impression  in  Holland,  and 
obviously  increased  Dutch  confidence  in 
Germany.  But  the  foreign  press  says  that 
the  German  statement  has  produced  the 
opposite  effect,  because  Germany  at  the 
same  time  emphasized  the  necessity  of  an 
economic  rapprochement.  In  consequence 
of  this,  Holland  is  said  to  have  become  more 
uneasy  than  ever. 

The    foreign    press    is    probably    right, 


304         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

because  it  is  one  of  Germany's  chief  articles 
of  faith  at  present  that  neighboring  coun- 
tries must  be  annexed  economically.  So 
much  is  certain:  the  Dutch  want,  as  little 
as  our  other  neighbors,  an  economical 
union  with  Germany,  because  they  have 
no  interest  in  Germany's  protective  tariff 
system,  and  because  they  fear  that  econo- 
mical dependence  might  be  converted  into 
political  dependence. 

That  numerous  writers  in  the  press  have 
carelessly  exploited  the  German  economic 
program,  has  hurt  us  greatly  abroad.  But 
the  Germans  will  neither  see  it  nor  believe 
it.  Through  their  foreign  propaganda  they 
have  swamped  all  neutral  countries  with 
such  outgivings,  with  the  hope,  one  must 
assume,  of  producing  a  favorable  effect. 

Oh,  this  foreign  propaganda!  Had  the 
Germans  kept  quiet,  they  might  perhaps, 
in  their  handicapped  position,  have  awak- 
ened some  sympathy,  and  their  true  nature 
might  have  been  forgotten  or  never  been 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         305 

known.  But  now  they  attach  great  value 
to  carrying  on  a  victorious  press  campaign. 
For  this  end  they  are  obliged  to  speak  out. 
But  no  sooner  do  they  speak  out  than  their 
last  friend  turns  away  with  horror  from 
the  coarseness  and  arrogance  of  their  atti- 
tude. 

November  ist. 
What  justification  is  there  in  international 
law  for  the  deportation  from  an  enemy 
country  of  innocent  families,  held  as  hos- 
tages? We  have  frequently  read  that  the 
French  took  away  many  persons,  under- 
stood to  be  hostages,  from  places  in  Alsace 
and  Lorraine.  Swiss  newspapers  also  dwell 
disapprovingly  on  this  practice.  It  seems 
to  me  to  be  a  futile  one,  even  if  it  were 
permissible  under  the  law  of  nations.  At 
all  events,  must  not  these  people  be  released 
as  soon  as  the  villages  they  come  from  are 
reoccupied  by  the  enemy? 


3o6         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

It  is  well  worth  noting  that  I  have  for 
the  first  time  met  a  German  industrial 
magnate  (a  South  German,  of  course)  who 
is  out  of  sympathy  with  the  policy  of  incita- 
tion  and  deception  which  the  Germans 
are  pursuing  more  and  more.  He  con- 
demned the  retirement  or  expulsion  of 
foreigners  from  our  scientific  societies  or 
institutions  by  the  cancellation  of  honorary 
distinctions  and  degrees,  and  also  the  general 
vilification  of  alien  peoples.  He  calmly 
admitted  to  me  that  the  war  was  brought 
on  by  a  few  individuals,  on  whom  history 
would  pass  judgment,  though  not,  perhaps, 
for  some  time  to  come.  All  Germans  who, 
through  a  policy  of  incitation,  had  assisted 
these  criminal  leaders,  would  then  stand 
shamed  before  the  world. 

This  conversation  strengthened  and  com- 
forted me.  But  when  I  suggested  that  we 
publish  a  manifesto,  urging  greater  re- 
straint and  sobriety,  my  comforter  excused 
himself,  because  such  a  thing  was  an  impos- 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  307 

sibility  in  Germany.     We  would  not  only 

be   overwhelmed   with   insults,   but  would 

imperil  the  interests  of  the  great  industrial 

establishments,    to   which   we   were   under 

obligation    to    render    the    most    devoted 

service. 

*  *  * 

I  recommend  to  anybody,  who  may  still 
have  doubts  as  to  Belgium's  intentions  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  war,  to  read  the  Belgian 
Grey  Book,  which  has  just  been  issued. 
Shame  on  him  who,  after  comparing  it 
with  German  outgivings,  still  maintains 
that  Belgium  had  made  any  agreements 
with  our  opponents,  or  that  France  ever 
had  any  idea  of  marching  through  Belgium ! 
Twofold  shame  on  him  who  doesn't  sympa- 
thize with  that  misused  country,  and  three- 
fold shame  on  him  who  says  that  Belgium 
could  have  permitted  the  passage  of  Ger- 
man troops  without  losing  her  honor! 

The  Belgian  case  lies  so  clear  and  open 
before  everybody's  eyes  that  it  seems  to 


3o8  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

me  almost  superfluous  to  add  some  obser- 
vations based  on  my  own  personal  experi- 
ence. I  shall  merely  hint  at  a  few  of  them. 
For  many  years  Belgium  had  bought  her 
war  material  almost  exclusively  from  Ger- 
many, and  in  her  domestic  production  had 
stood  in  a  relation  to  Germany  amounting 
almost  to  dependence,  so  far  as  models 
and  fabrication  were  concerned.  The  28- 
centimeter  guns  for  the  fortifications  of 
Antwerp  were  ordered  from  Germany. 
These  guns  were  already  finished,  paid  for, 
and  awaiting  delivery  at  the  beginning  of 
19 14.  But  work  on  the  fortifications  at 
Antwerp  had  not  progressed  far  enough  to 
allow  them  to  be  installed. 

So  the  Belgian  authorities  asked  that 
they  be  kept  for  a  while  at  the  place  of 
manufacture.  For  various  reasons,  this 
request  was  unwillingly  granted  and  the 
Belgian  Government  was  repeatedly  urged, 
even  shortly  before  the  war,  to  take  away 
these  cannon.     But  Brussels  constantly  re- 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         309 

newed  its  request  and  even  offered  to  pay 
storage  costs.  When  the  war  broke  out 
these  valuable  guns  were  commandeered 
and  put  to  use  by  the  Prussian  War  Ministry. 

It  is  very  clear  that  a  Belgian  govern- 
vnent  which  had  any  evil  intentions  towards 
Germany  or  expected  any  injury  from  Ger- 
many would  have  acted  differently.  An- 
other example  of  the  same  sort  is  that  some 
months  before  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  the 
Belgian  Government  entered  into  extensive 
agreements  with  the  greatest  of  the  German 
munitions  and  war  material  establishments 
both  for  the  delivery  of  a  new  munitions 
supply  by  this  firm  and  also  for  the  fabrica- 
tion of  munitions  in  Belgium;  and  induced 
the  great  Belgian  firm  of  Cockerill  to  enter 
into  similar  highly  significant  agreements. 

The  war  had  hardly  broken  out  when 
the  latter  firm  announced  the  part  payment 
of  1,000,000  francs  on  a  German  royalty 
accoimt.  Such  incidents  show  the  unsus- 
pecting attitude  of  Belgium  and  her  effort 


31  o         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

to  keep  on  good  terms  with  Germany.  But 
if  she  feared  Germany,  then  the  Gov- 
ernment beheved  that  it  could  moderate 
the  peril  by  a  special  concession  to  German 
cupidity,  just  as  the  royal  family  of  Bel- 
gium may  have  considered  its  friendship 
with  the  German  rulers  a  protection  for 
Belgium. 

November  9th. 
Tsing-Tau  fell  yesterday.  It  would  have 
been  more  reasonable  on  our  part  to  give 
it  back  to  China  befofe  Japan  declared  war. 
Whoever  believed,  after  all  the  heroic  tele- 
grams about  "defense  to  the  last  man" 
and  "  the  most  unyielding  fulfillment  of 
duty,"  that  the  Japanese  would  take  no 
German  alive,  must  be  agreeably  surprised. 
Even  the  Governor  is  still  alive.  Unfor- 
tunately William  II.  cannot  this  time  offer 
both  parties  the  order  "Pour  le  Merite," 
as  he  did  some  time  ago  after  the  fall  of 
Port  Arthur. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  311 

A  few  days  ago  the  German  East  Asiatic 
squadron  destroyed  an  Enghsh  squadron 
off  the  coast  of  Chile. 

Nevertheless,  it  must  be  said  that  very 
little  is  going  on.  There  has  been  very 
little  change  in  the  eight  days  since  my 
last  entry.  The  Germans  are  not  getting 
forward  in  the  West ;  in  the  East  the  retreat 
to  the  line  of  the  Warthe  has  not  yet  been 
finished. 

Recently  statements  about  disorders  in 
France,  about  an  impending  retreat  of  the 
French  army,  and  about  discords  between 
our  enemies,  have  come  to  us  under  a  Geneva 
date  line.  The  Government  has  evidently 
placed  an  agent  in  Geneva  and  hopes  thereby 
to  create  the  impression  that  news  is  com- 
ing out  of  French  Switzerland  which  is 
unfavorable  to  France. 

Only  our  undiscriminating  public  is  de- 
ceived. Everybody  else  will  satisfy  him- 
self without  any  difficulty  that  the  foreign 
sources  on  which  our  Geneva  correspond- 


312         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

ent  depends  are  either  doctored  or  do  not 
exist.  It  would  carry  me  too  far  to  give 
other  examples,  a  great  quantity  of  which 
I  have  collected. 


The  German  Crown  Prince  has  exchanged 
"brotherly  greetings"  with  Enver  Pasha. 
Such  fraternization  has  ceased  with  the 
world  war;  and  I  fear  that  Europe  will 
eventually  have  to  pay  for  it  with  the  loss 
of  her  world  position. 


Of  the  news  that  England  has  begun  to 
intern  Germans  in  concentration  camps, 
and  as  a  result  of  the  ignoring  by  the  Eng- 
lish Government  of  a  German  proposal  for 
the  exchange  of  men  not  fit  for  military 
duty,  the  German  Government  has  re- 
torted with  a  similar  measure:  namely, 
the  internment  here  of  all  Englishmen 
between  15  and  55,  mostly  jockies,  trainers. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         313 

and  negroes.  All  other  Englishmen  must 
report  to  the  police  twice  a  day.  One  sees 
that  madness  and  hatefulness  are  becoming 
more  unmeasured  than  they  already  were. 


As  I  learned  from  a  source  which  can  be 
depended  upon,  there  have  been  for  some 
time  past  several  English  submarines  in 
the  Baltic  Sea,  with  their  base  probably 
at  Libau.  In  consequence  the  warships 
at  Kiel  do  not  venture  to  go  out;  even  the 
trial  trips  of  new  ships  have  had  to  be 
postponed. 

*  *  * 

German  money  is  at  an  average  discount 
of  10%  in  foreign  countries.  Also  the 
value  of  Austrian  money  has  considerably 
decreased,  while  all  foreign  quotations  are 
normal.  Belgian  bank  notes  are  even  very 
high,  although  there  is  almost  no  Belgian 
territory  left.  This  financial  judgment  on 
the  part  of  foreign  exchanges  gives  us  food 


314         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

for  thought.  It  is  not  justifiable  to  talk 
of  enemy  machinations.  In  money  matters 
there  is  a  very  cold-blooded,  international 
public. 

Also  the  disparity  between  import  and 
export  trade  needs  clearing  up.  Austria- 
Hungary  is  importing  almost  nothing;  on 
the  contrary,  we  are  buying  a  great  deal  \ 

from  Austria-Hungary  just  now.  The  real 
cause  is  that  no  one  in  the  outside  world 
wants  to  keep  German  money,  because 
confidence  in  its  value  is  lacking. 

We  say  to  ourselves  that  Germany  is 
straining  her  powers  to  the  utmost;  that 
her  finances  seem  to  be  in  good  order; 
that  she  has  worked  out  a  very  delicate 
method  of  creating  enormous  resources. 
But  all  that  will  hold  good  only  in  case 
we  win  the  war — only  in  case  our  enemies 
are  obliged  to  pay  great  indemnities.  Other- 
wise, the  method  breaks  down.  And  the 
foreign  world  is  of  the  opinion  that  Ger- 
many's calculations  will  go  awry. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         315 

November  loth. 

The  Turkish  Government,  just  like  the 
rest  of  us,  calls  loudly  in  its  proclamations 
and  war  bulletins  on  God,  who  recognizes 
the  justice  of  the  Turkish  cause  and  pro- 
tects that  cause.  The  Turkish  Govern- 
ment also  describes  itself  as  the  attacked 
and  persecuted  party,  forced  to  enter  the 
war  by  implacable  enemies  of  the  Turkish 
Empire.  This  hypocritical  croaking  on  the 
part  of  accomplices  in  crime  must  be  a 
pleasing  concert  for  the  ears  of  the  Ruler 
of  the  World. 

I  will  excuse  them  by  saying  that  they 
cannot  forego  the  lie  by  which  they  live, 
at  the  moment  in  which  they  fight  for 
their  own  lying  existence.  If  they  compel 
their  peoples  to  war,  they  are  themselves 
compelled  to  falsehood.  If  they  want  to 
rule,  they  can  rule  only  through  politics, 
which  with  them  means  the  same  thing  as 
the  distortion  of  morals  and  truth,  as  the 
utilization  for  their  own  purposes  of  the 


3i6         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

ignorance,  the  bigotry,  and  the  conceptions 
of  honor  and  duty  of  the  masses  of  the 
people. 

But  it  is  much  sadder  when  those  men 
who,  because  of  their  education,  insight, 
and  independence,  stand  in  a  certain  way 
as  neutrals  between  the  poorer  contribut- 
ing populace  and  the  ambitious  tricky 
Governments,  and  who  should  form  an 
International  Court  of  Arbitration,  conduct 
themselves  as  deceitfully  and  hatefully  as 
though  they  were  themselves  politicians, 
and  depended  for  the  working  out  of  their 
plans  on  the  blinding  and  leading  astray  of 
entire  nations. 

I  have  read  a  poem  by  Verharen,  even, 
which  seems  to  me  scandalous.  It  is  true 
that  terrible  excesses  have  been  committed. 
It  is  true  that  the  moral  status  of  one  people 
is  lower  than  that  of  another.  But  no  think- 
ing man  ought  on  that  account  to  con- 
duct himself  as  though  he  could  no  longer 
make  any  distinctions  among  enemies,  as 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         317 

though  he  could  no  longer  discover  any 
ray  of  reconciliation,  rapprochement  or 
hope.  Whoever  sees  in  an  entire  people 
only  wild  beasts  which  must  be  extermi- 
nated; whoever  collects  only  a  one-sided 
record  of  the  crimes  of  the  enemy,  but  ex- 
cludes everything  which  excuses  the  enemy 
or  is  at  all  in  his  favor,  himself  commits  a 
crime  which  is  greater  than  those  excesses, 
because  he  poisons  for  years  to  come  mil- 
lions of  human  beings  with  his  own  rabid 
hate.  Such  injustice  does  not  strengthen 
the  friend,  but  the  enemy.  On  the  con- 
trary, whoever  is  stern  toward  himself  and 
toward  his  own  friends,  when  strife  has 
broken  out,  works  for  conciliation  and 
moderates  the  violence  of  the  battle. 

It  is  also  no  excuse  for  either  of  the  parties 
to  say  that  the  enemy  does  not  do  differently 
or  better — that  he  is  guilty  of  the  same 
exaggerations  and  false  generalizations.  To 
preserve  reason,  judgment,  and  moderation 
in  these  things  is  at  present  the  first  and 


3i8         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

almost  the  sole  indication  of  higher  intel- 
lect and  of  that  genuine  superiority,  which 
must  conquer,  and  which  the  conquered 
will  not  deny  but  rather  try  to  imitate. 

Unfortunately  the  best  known  authors 
and  poets  among  us  have  shown  themselves 
of  little  worth  as  leaders  or  mediators. 
One  must  be  filled  with  deep  distrust  of 
them;  one  must  doubt  whether  it  was 
right  to  yield  so  far  to  their  ideas  and  judg- 
ments, as  we  have  so  often  and  so  gladly 
done;  one  must  fear  that  some  peril  lay 
concealed  in  their  works,  which  heretofore 
we  had  artlessly  failed  to  notice.  Their 
outgivings  in  this  war  have  shown  us  that 
they  do  not  possess  the  spiritual  superiority 
which  helps  us  in  our  need.  This  discovery 
must  aid  us,  after  the  war  in  breaking  away 
from  the  coryphees  of  recent  days.  A  new 
generation  must  seek  new  leaders  and  poets, 
who  are  better  people  than  these  angels 
with  devils'  hearts. 

If  it  is  true  that  an  author  like  Wells 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         319 

not  long  ago  demanded  a  pitiless  butchery  of 
all  Germans,  one  might  almost  refrain  from 
abusing  the  stupid,  narrow  German  profes- 
sor, who  busies  himself  eagerly  in  illumina- 
ting his  own  limited  intellectual  terrain  to 
the  outer  world  by  means  of  patriotic  fire- 
works. The  German  professor  believes  that 
no  one  is  able  to  resist  a  desire  to  see  Ger- 
man truth  just  as  narrowly  constricted  as 
he  and  his  fellow  countrymen  see  it. 

But  it  must  be  repeated  how  repulsive 
and  injurious  such  conduct  is.  Not  long 
ago  a  German  University  Professor  took 
to  task  a  Swiss  painter  on  account  of  the 
well-known  protest  against  the  destruction 
of  the  Cathedral  of  Rheims,  and  in  doing  so 
acted  as  if  he,  as  a  former  professor  in  the 
University  of  Basle,  was  entitled  to  speak  in 
the  name  of  German  Switzerland.  A  pub- 
lication by  the  University  of  Basle  denies 
all  S3rmpathy  with  the  views  of  this  gentle- 
man.    Such  a  thing  is  truly  lamentable. 


320         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

I  have  a  lively  recollection  from  the  days 
of  my  youth  of  the  fat,  rough,  German 
bourgeoisie  of  German  cities.  They  sat 
gladly  and  frequently  in  their  favorite 
<ir inking  places,  conversed  noisily  and  self- 
importantly  about  all  sorts  of  trifles,  drank 
and  ate  heavily,  and  considered  themselves 
the  most  perfect  of  all  men,  while  their 
wives  were  busied  at  home  with  the  chil- 
dren, worked  their  heads  off,  and  never 
thought  of  the  possibility  that  their  hus- 
bands would  take  them  along  to  these  en- 
tertainments or  even  give  them  a  friendly 
word.  Very  similarly  the  new  Germany, 
whose  business  was  going  well,  feasted 
together  and  shouted  out  all  sorts  of  rude, 
arrogant,  and  eccentric  things  across  the 
tables  and  out  of  the  windows,  without 
feeling  that  they  would  better  first  perform 
their  urgent  duties  at  home,  before  they 
allowed  themselves  such  license;  that  they 
should  first  help  the  common  people  to  rise 
out  of  brutality,  misery,  and  ignorance  to 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         321 

a  level  more  worthy  of  human  beings, 
before  they  allowed  themselves  to  pose  to 
the  outside  world  as  great  men.  Now, 
the  Government,  in  war  time,  suddenly 
disturbs  their  banquet;  they  hear  voices 
from  outside  which  abuse  them  as  Philis- 
tines and  egoists;  they  spring  up  bluster- 
ingly  and  in  a  great  fury  try  to  prove  what 
fine  men  of  the  world  and  peaceable  fellows 
they  really  are.  They  are  astonished  that 
foreign  listeners  recognize  them  at  the  first 
word  as  clowns  and  are  disposed  to  ignore 
them.  They  feel  themselves  even  more 
abused  that  they  were  disturbed  in  the 
midst  of  their  eating  and  drinking,  which 
had  become  richer  and  more  copious  every 
year.  Instead  of  learning,  they  want  to 
teach.  Their  ardent  patriotism  carries 
credentials   not   from   the  heart  but  from 

the  stomach. 

*  *  * 

A  letter  from  the  front  brings  me  the 
extraordinary  news  that  the  German  Kaiser 


322         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

personally  stated  before  an  assemblage  of 
officers  that  he  had  now  enough  prisoners, 
and  that  he  hoped  the  officers  would  see 
to  it  that  no  more  were  taken.  This  news 
is  entirely  trustworthy.  What  a  supple- 
ment to  the  address  of  the  Bavarian  Crown 
Prince!  What  a  sequel  to  the  former  cry 
of  the  Kaiser  to  the  troops  of  the  China 
Expedition :  "No  quarter  will  be  given " ! 

November  nth. 
I  was  not  a  little  astonished  to  hear  yester- 
day from  someone  who  was  in  a  position 
to  know,  that  already  on  two  occasions 
feelers  for  peace  between  ourselves  and 
Russia  had  been  put  out,  and  that  Russia 
was  entirely  ready  to  conclude  a  separate 
peace.  The  first  time  Russia  demanded 
that  Germany  should  cut  loose  from  Austria- 
Hungary — which  was  refused.  If  Ger- 
many feels  the  necessity  of  working  within 
the  Dual  Monarchy,  on  the  one  hand  for 
the  domination  of  the  German  population, 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         323 

and  on  the  other  for  advantageous  rela- 
tions with  neighboring  states,  like  Rumania 
and  Italy,  it  is  out  of  the  question  to  give 
Russia  a  free  hand  against  Austria-Hungary, 
since  this  would  mean  a  complete  destruc- 
tion of  German  prestige  in  Eastern  Europe. 
Why  the  negotiations  fell  through  the 
second  time,  and  for  what  reason  they  were 
renewed,  I  have  no  means  of  knowing. 
Probably  the  entry  of  Turkey  into  the  war 
has  tended  to  change  the  situation.  I  shall 
make  no  further  comments  on  this  piece 
of  news.  For  me  the  greatest  surprise  in 
connection  with  it  is  that  Russia  presumably 
is  inclined  to  sign  a  separate  peace.  Perhaps 
she  only  pretends  to  be  so  and  is  sounding 
Austria-Hungary  in  the  same  manner.  It 
is  clear  that  Germany  would  be  pleased  to 
have  Russia  off  her  neck  and  would  be 
glad  to  make  some  sacrifice  to  that  end. 
*  *  * 

When  one  frequently  reads,  as  I  do,  in 
confidential  correspondence  what  Germany 


324         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

is  thinking  of  doing  with  her  conquests, 
one  must  become  anxious  and  alarmed  not 
only  for  the  human  race,  but  even  for  Ger- 
many. There  are  a  great  number  of  people 
exceedingly  active,  who,  in  the  fear  that 
the  guild  of  statesmen  or  of  soldiers  is  not 
competent  to  make  a  proper  peace,  put 
their  own  thoughts  on  paper  and  exchange 
them  with  their  friends.  These  schemes 
are  then  presented  to  the  Kaiser  and  his 
intimates.  A  very  influential  gentleman 
who  intended  to  betake  himself  to  Grand 
Headquarters  with  such  a  composition 
allowed  me  to  look  over  it.  It  contains, 
among  other  things,  the  demand  that  the 
non-German  inhabitants  of  the  annexed 
territories  shall  have  no  political  rights. 
This  single  example  is  enough. 


The  French  ambassador  to  London  re- 
cently justly  maintained  in  an  address  that 
the    most    shocking   thing    in   this  war  is 


The  Vandal  of  Europe  325 

not  the  misapprehensions  of  the  lower 
classes,  but  the  outgivings  of  the  so-called 
intellectual  elite  of  Germany,  the  profes- 
sors and  similar  persons,  who  betray  a 
sort  of  regulated,  schoolmaster-like  barbar- 
ity, and  apparently  have  not  the  faintest 
idea  that  there  is  an  intellectual  com- 
munity between  the  other  peoples,  which 
is  strong  enough  to  destroy  German  egoism. 
In  fact  one  cannot  write  more  facilely  and 
superficially  than  one  of  our  best-known 
teachers  of  international  law,  at  once  the 
tutor  and  the  valued  friend  of  the  Kaiser, 
did  the  other  day  in  a  newspaper  article. 
Whoever  has  read  that  article  will  under- 
stand what  the  Frenchman  means. 


Someone  whispered  to  me  as  a  great 
secret  that  the  chief  international  conven- 
tions relating  to  war  are  invalid,  since 
Montenegro,  which  signed  none  of  these 
conventions,    is    taking    part    in    the    war. 


326         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

There  was  a  provision  that  in  such  a  case 
all  the  agreements  among  the  other  bel- 
ligerents should  be  invalidated.  If  one  gets 
to  that  point,  illimitable  consequences  could 
follow.  This  is  also  worth  noting.  We 
Germans  are  such  paragraph  people  and 
superficial  moralists  that  we  believe  every 
nation,  so  soon  as  it  knows  that  these 
agreements  are  not  binding,  will  at  once 
commit  all  imaginable  atrocities,  because 
there  is  no  law  against  doing  so.  Our  own 
hearts,  our  own  reason,  our  own  worth  as 
human  beings  seem  to  us  to  have  nothing 
to  say  in  the  matter. 


I  learned  to-day  from  a  Bulgarian  that 
Italy  is  making  great  efforts  to  win  over 
Bulgaria  to  a  league  of  neutral  states,  which 
already  includes  Italy,  Rumania,  and  Greece. 
He  says  that  Bulgaria  is  showing  little 
interest  and  that  Italy  has  promised  her  a 
return  by  Rumania  of  the  Dobrudja.      The 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         327 

tendency  of  this  league  is  against  Austria. 
In  any  case  it  could  exercise  a  great  influ- 
ence on  both  belligerent  groups,  and  could 
bring  great  profits  to  those  states  which 
were  members  of  it. 

November  12th. 

Enemy  ships  have  tracked  down  and 
destroyed  in  the  Indian  Ocean  the  small 
cruiser  Emden,  after  it  had  accomplished 
many  brilliant  feats.  For  several  months 
past,  the  chivalry  of  its  German  captain 
had  been  applauded  by  the  English.  In 
this  war,  which  drips  more  with  hate  than 
with  blood,  there  might  be  almost  some 
hope  left,  were  we  to  value  rightly  this 
praise  on  the  part  of  an  opponent. 

I  shall  not  go  into  the  question  whether 
the  Germans  would  publicly  pay  such 
tribute  to  an  enemy  who  had  injured  them 
to  a  similar  extent.  It  is  enough  for  me 
to  hear  this  unanimous  praise  from  an 
enemy  country.     So  it  pays  to  fight  chival- 


328         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

rously!  Also  our  opponents,  in  spite  of 
what  our  newspapers  say,  do  not  call  every- 
one a  barbarian  who  fights  in  the  German 
ranks!  Too  few  of  the  stamp  of  this 
captain  have  been  conspicuous  on  the  Ger- 
man side.  May  his  example  create  many 
great  and  small  imitators!  May  every 
German  so  conduct  himself  that  he  can 
confidently  leave  it  to  the  enemy  to  pass 
judgment  on  himself  and  his  deeds.  There 
cannot  be  a  greater  victory  than  when 
Germany  thus  receives  back  her  honor 
from  the  enemy,  as  this  sea  officer  did  his 
from   the   English,   who   restored   him   his 

sword. 

*  *  * 

One  would  think  that  the  reading  of  the 
newspapers  and  periodicals  alone  were  a 
sufficient  war-terror  to  call  forth  a  cry  of 
longing  for  truth  and  moderation  from 
millions  of  hearts.  One  would  think  that 
a  wave  of  abhorrence  must  soon  obliterate 
the    shameful    words    and    images    forced 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         329 

upon  us  by  hatred  and  the  deUght  in  in- 
flicting pain  and  suffering.  Partisanship 
is  no  longer  the  correct  expression ;  it  is  ob- 
session. If  one  wanted  to  make  a  record 
of  all  the  crimes  committed  each  year  in 
the  enemy's  country  and  offer  it  as  a  com- 
plete epitome  of  the  enemy's  activities  and 
aspirations,  expressly  denying  the  existence 
of  all  other  sorts  of  human  activities,  he 
would  be  simply  following  the  example  of 
our  press. 

From  time  to  time  exceptions  are  made 
— by  orders  from  the  top,  of  course.  Thus 
at  present  some  suggestions  are  being  thrown 
out  excusing  France  and  Russia,  because  it 
is  desired  to  show  that  the  Continental 
States  are  all  dupes  of  England.  Another 
time  they  will  think  it  politically  expedi- 
ent to  turn  the  spearhead  of  hate  against  a 
Continental  State  and  to  spare  England. 

Almost  without  exception  our  opponents 
are  credited  with  characteristics  and  aims 
which   present-day   Germany    exhibits    or 


330         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

cherishes  far  more  than  any  other  power. 
For  instance,  lust  for  territory.  We  hear 
on  all  sides,  "land-greedy  Japan,  land-greedy 
Russia,  land-greedy  England."  But  in  the 
same  breath  our  masters  discuss  among 
themselves  in  whispers  the  foreign  territory 
which  Germany  absolutely  must  have. 
He  is  a  traitor  to  his  country  who  does  not 
perceive  this  vital  necessity! 

Another  example  would  be  the  alleged 
envy  of  German  industry  and  the  desire 
to  destroy  it.  But  no  more  of  this.  I 
have  already  set  forth  what  claims  must 
be  satisfied  at  the  end  of  the  war,  according 
to  the  views  prevailing  in  our  most  influen- 
tial circles.  Yes,  must  be  satisfied.  And 
I  am  anxious  to  know  what  Germany  is 
going  to  do,  if  this  "must"  is  not  conceded 
by  our  opponents. 

November  14th. 

In  England  the  spy  mania  seems  to 
have  taken  a  very  malignant  form.  This 
is   probably   partly  due    to  the   idea   the 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         331 

Englishman  has  of  the  foreigner,  whom  he 
imagines  smarter,  shrewder,  and  bolder 
than  himself,  but  who  is  ultimately  thwarted 
by  British  cold-bloodedness  and  steadiness. 
Around  the  stolid  Englishman  romps  or 
rages  a  world  of  half-monkeys,  whom  he 
makes  use  of  or  drives  back  into  their 
cages  as  soon  as  they  begin  to  annoy  him. 
This  impertiurable  self-assurance,  together 
with  a  fantastic  and  credulous  distrust  of 
everything  abnormal — that  is,  non-English 
— causes  him  to  think  now  that  all  Ger- 
mans or  former  Germans  are  spies. 

It  matters  not  that  Englishmen  of  Ger- 
man origin  have  sons  in  the  British  army 
and  navy.  The  ex-German  and  his  family 
are  suspects  and  must  be  prevented  from 
doing  harm.  Even 'the  First  Lord  of  the 
Admiralty,  Prince  Battenberg,  whose  sons 
are  fighting  in  the  army  and  whose  nephew 
has  died  for  England,  had  to  resign  his 
ofhce  after  being  attacked  in  the  press 
because  of  his  German  descent. 


332         The  Vandal  of  Europe 

The  helpless  German  proletariat  which 
used  to  fill  the  London  streets  and  now 
fills  the  internment  camps  is  suspected  of 
keeping  up  mysterious  relations  with  the 
Kaiser  and  his  military  forces.  Miserable 
German  shop-keepers  are  thrown  on  the 
sidewalk  because  they  maintained  head- 
quarters for  a  news-service  hostile  to  Eng- 
land. Waiters  and  clerks,  formerly  happy 
for  having  escaped  from  Germany  and  her 
obligatory  military  service,  are  considered 
a  disguised  army  of  invasion  or  as  special 
advance  courriers  of  his  Majesty,  the 
German  Emperor. 

If  German  vessels  reach  the  English 
coast,  only  German  spies  could  have  dis- 
closed the  way  there.  If  a  surprise  attack 
has  been  made  upon  English  soldiers,  then 
the  German  spy,  disguised  as  a  peasant,  has 
been  seen  reconnoitering  the  position.  Ger- 
man spies,  dressed  in  the  uniforms  of  Eng- 
lish officers,  appear  before  Indian  regiments 
and    order    them    to    leave    the    trenches. 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         333 

Disguised  as  Belgian  sanitary  officers,  they 
offer  to  guide  English  troops,  and  guide 
them  into  what  proves  to  be  an  ambush. 
Wherever  the  Englishman  goes  and  halts, 
eats  and  drinks,  works  and  sleeps,  at  home 
or  abroad,  a  German  spy  is  shadowing  him. 
But  England  need  not  fear;  the  sons  of 
Albion  will  discover  the  shadower.  No 
disguise,  no  dissimulation,  no  fluency  of 
speech,  no  swiftness  of  movement — in  short, 
nothing — saves  him  from  the  sharp  English 
eye,  and  the  strong  English  hand.  One 
might  feel  inclined  to  laugh  at  all  this,  if 
one  did  not  pity  the  poor  victims  in  England 
who,  worried,  simple-minded,  and  industri- 
ous, wanted  to  leave  Germany  for  a  better 
country. 


Very  pretty  is  the  motto  of  the  new  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  English  fleet,  which 
the  English  newspapers  proudly  place 
under  his  picture:  "Hit  first,  hit  hard,  hit 


334  The  Vandal  of  Europe 

anywhere!"  No  German  hero  could  have 
clothed  so  beautiful  an  exhortation  in  such 
curt  words — even  the  Crown  Prince  of 
Bavaria,  or  the  Crown  Prince  of  Prussia. 
In  this  war  there  could  be  no  possible  deed 
which  did  not  come  within  the  limitations 
of  this  motto.  For  instance,  "hit  any- 
where" entails  such  a  generous  and  general 
absolution  that  the  Germans  ought  no 
longer  need  to  feel  ashamed.  It  is  enough 
merely  *  to  look  at  the  picture  of  this  Lord 
Fisher:  A  ring  fighter,  rough,  tricky,  in  a 
dress  uniform  overloaded  with  orders.  He 
and  his  motto  belong  in  Germany. 


Very  recently  I  heard  a  representative 
German  admit  to  me,  to  my  great  astonish- 
ment, that  we  wanted  to  bring  on  the  war; 
that  we  could  very  easily  have  done  what 
was  necessary  to  avoid  war;  that  Vienna 
and  St.  Petersbiu-g  were  already  on  the 
point  of  an  agreement.     But  we  had  mis- 


The  Vandal  of  Europe         335 

calculated,  because  we  were  not  able  to 
reduce  France  to  her  knees  within  two 
months. 

So  much  wisdom  induced  me  to  put  to  him 
this  question:  "Yes,  certainly,  that  is  my 
conviction,  too;  but  since  when  have  you 
thought  so?" 

Whereupon,  smiling  an  indescribably 
amiable  smile,  he  answered:  "One  does 
not  say  such  things  before  it  is  time  to 
say  them — and  never  under  any  circum- 
stances to  the  public!" 


THE  END. 


The 
Guilt  of  Germany 

For  the  War  of  German  Aggression 

By 

Prince  Karl  Lichnowsky 

Preface  by 
Viscount  Bryce 

12°.     Price,   75c.  net     By  mail,  65c. 

This  volume  contains  Prince  Lich- 
nowsky's  famous  ''memorandum"  in 
which  he  fastens  the  guilt  for  propagat- 
ing the  world  war,  on  Germany — un- 
hesitatingly proclaims  it  the  war  of 
German  Aggression.  The  author  was 
German  Ambassador  to  England  before 
hostilities  broke  out,  and  he  upholds 
England  as  blameless,  and  hails  Earl 
Grey  as  an  apostle  of  Peace.  Von 
Jagow's  reply  to  the  "  memorandum  "  is 
included. 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

New  York  London 


Deductions  ^oin  the 
World  War 

By  Lieutenant-General  Baron 

von  Freytag-Loringhoven 

Deputy  Chief  of  the  German  Imperial  Staff 

72°.     $1.2^  net.     By  mail,  $I.JS 

"In  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  the 
German  people  will  have  to  seek  firm 
cohesion  in  its  glorious  army  and  in  its 
belaurelled  young  fleet." 

Some  Extracts 

"  The  spirit  of  German  militarism,  which  has 
enabled  us  to  stand  the  test  of  the  World  War, 
we  must  preserve  in  future,  because,  with  it, 
our  position  stands  or  falls." 

"  Germany  must  for  all  time  to  come  main- 
tain her  claim  to  world  power." 

**  Lord  Kitchener  was  prompt  in  grasping 
the  situation,  and  by  raising  a  strong  army 
put  the  country  in  a  position  to  sustain  a  long 
war." 

"  Now,  as  always,  it  is  the  sword  which 
decides  in  war  .  .  .  it  is  victory  on  the 
battlefield  that  gives  the  decision." 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

New  York  London 


\U^ 


1  Inr/Bfillv  Ol  GalllOtna  j-O*.  *?^'L^%,,  ,1 


L  005  832  281   9 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    000  885  783 


